


Redemption Is a Four Letter Word

by Azurith



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2013-07-27
Packaged: 2017-11-21 21:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/602266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azurith/pseuds/Azurith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sephiroth asked for a chance at redemption, this wasn't what he was expecting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a a bit of an AU story focusing on Sephiroth being sent back in time. Major changes have an will occur considering the main time line. There will be Yaoi in this story, but I wont reveal the pairings until later on because that would just spoil the plot.  
> This story as of right now will only appear on AO3. I may change this in the future.  
> Please Leave a comment.

            When Sephiroth had asked for a chance at redemption, wanting to break the endless cycle of resurrection by Jenova, then defeat, this wasn't what he was expecting.

            The brown headed Cetra who he had slain appeared before him and offered him a kind smile. "You can help the one you hurt the most."

            He originally thought that she meant herself. He had killed her after all, then again, he had killed hundreds if not thousands of people between his role as Shinra's General and his ensuing insanity.

            When he awoke, he found himself standing in Nibelheim. Not just Nibelheim, but the real one. The town that existed before his genocide. Then it struck him, _"The one you hurt the most."_

            "Cloud." He said out loud with a heavy breath. His mind had returned to him. Freed from Jenova's grasp, but he still didn't relish seeing the blonde again and he was sure that the feeling would be mutual.

            But if this was Nibelheim from before the fire, then Cloud wouldn't hate him yet.

            He was drawn out of his thoughts when someone walked into him or rather _right through him._

            "What is this?" Sephiroth asked, looking at the man who just continued on his way. He then realized that no one was paying attention to him at all. It was like he didn't even _exist_.

            "If I don't exist, then how am I suppose to help anyone!"He yelled at no one particular. He hoped maybe the dead flower girl would appear to him and explain things further, but it seemed he hadn't earned an explanation.

            Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a pack of children, they were hitting something. Probably a poor animal. For lack of anything else, he walked over and gasped. That wasn't an animal at all.

            "Cloud!" The man said, even in a small 6 year old body Sephiroth would recognize his rival. He was confused, but even more so when the blonde glanced at him a moment before receiving another punch to the face.

            "Enough!" Sephiroth screamed at the boys, all at least 2 years older than the small blonde.

            It however had no effect. The only one who seemed to notice anything was Cloud again.

            In frustration, he reached out to grab the boy about to swing again and failed.

            "How am I suppose to help him like this!" Sephiroth demanded an answer again, but none came.

            Finally, after a few more minutes, the boys seemed to get bored as Cloud's head rolled to one side.

            "Cloud!" Sephiroth cried again. Even after all he had done, seeing his rival get beaten to a pulp when he was a small child and couldn't defend himself. Well, it touched a place in his heart he thought was long dead.

            Hesitantly, he reached out, trying to touch Cloud and was startled when he actually connected.

            "You need medical attention." Sephiroth said, looking the boy over. In this small town, he didn't know where he would find it.

            He stood and looked around, realizing that several of the town’s people had to have seen the altercation and had to see the small unconscious boy and _were doing nothing._

            "If you won't help me, help him!" Sephiroth screamed towards the sky. "He was your friend, right? Your savior, your champion!"

            There was still no response and he began to wonder if the Cetra was mocking him.

            Not sure what else to do, he turned and picked the boy up. "I don't know which one is your house."

            The boy was out cold and didn't respond. This was not Sephiroth's day.

            "There has to be something in the mansion to bind your wounds. But will I even be able to touch them?" Sephiroth said with a growl.

            He took a chance anyway and moved as swiftly as he dared to the Shinra Mansion. It seemed either no one really cared for Cloud or Sephiroth's own invisibility extended to the blonde while he was in his arms.

            He found the mansion easily enough and was relieved when he could open the door. It seemed his insubstantial-ness only extended to people who weren't Cloud.

            He was surprised though to see that the place was in decent shape. The mansion was clean, the creatures that infested the place in the future were nowhere to be seen. If it had been abandoned, those who left had only left a few months ago.

            He didn't hesitate long however as the boy in his arms started to grow pale. He swiftly made his way down to the labs, assuming that there would be something of a first aid kit located there, if nothing else.

            "Stay with me, Cloud." Sephiroth said, descending the stairs.

            When he reached the lab, he placed Cloud's small frame down on one of the examination tables before turning to rummage through the cabinets. He found stack after stack of useless lab equipment before finally coming across some bandages and disinfectant.

            Taking a cloth that he found on the counter, he cleaned Cloud's wounds, wiped them with the disinfectant and wrapped them to stop the bleeding. Once that was done, he looked the boy over a bit more.

            He didn't find any more severe damage until he came to the boy's right ankle. It was swelling and bent at an odd angle. Swearing a bit, he went to find something to use as a splint. The only solace he had was that, if this was the past, Cloud had obviously survived without his help. With the town folk's reaction, he wasn't sure how that had been possible.

            Once the boy's leg was splinted, he picked him up and carried him back up the stairs. He had done all he could for now and decided to let the child rest upstairs in one of the bedrooms instead of the lab.

            Cloud still wasn't moving, but he had a pulse and he was still breathing. Selecting one of the larger beds, Sephiroth laid him down in the middle and covered him up.

            "I need to find out what's going on." Sephiroth said, turning his gaze from the boy to the walls.

            There were no calendars or anything to tell him exactly when or where he was. He assumed that Cloud was 6, but he was so small and appeared chronically malnourished.

            It was obvious Cloud wouldn't wake for some time, likely not until the next morning. Decision made, Sephiroth left the room and once again descended to the basement. His best source of a relevant time frame was down in those files.

            Sephiroth slowly entered the library, remembering that, in his old life, this was the last place he could claim some semblance of sanity. Now he hoped these pages would keep him from going insane.

            Stepping up to the book case, which was new and mold free, he ran his hand across the files. Many of them had been damaged overtime when he had done his initial reading. Now everything was pristine. Finally his had stopped over a file titled. "Project S".

            Pulling it off the shelf with a heavy sigh, he sat down in the chair and flipped it open.

            "First Post-Birth Entry August 27th 065, Specimen S is showing early signs of accelerated development. Specimen C however is progressing at a normal infant like rate. Further observation is required."

            Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. He was certain that he had been the only subject in the original project "S", who was this subject C?

            He read further in. "Entry 17 November 19th 066. Gast has decided to shut project S down since Project G is showing more promising results. Project S has been encouraging, but project C is likely a complete failure. Subject C is to be sent to Midgar and raised with a surrogate family. Subject S will stay in Nibelheim for further observation."

            He knew that wasn't right. Genesis had been the failure. It was the cause of his degradation. No one but Genesis had been given a surrogate family either.

            What were these files?

            He flipped to the end. "Entry 99 July 7th 071 Subject S deemed too unstable to continue even lab observations. Subject completely abandoned and turned over to town. This will be the last entry in his file. Site will be shut down and files sealed."

            What in Hades was this? The mansion had been abandoned before Cloud was even born? Sephiroth had been abandoned in the town? None of this made sense. He threw the file down and stood again.

            He grabbed another file further on down the bookcase labeled. "Jenova Project Outline." And flung it open.

            Inside he found files on two women. Lucrecia Crescent, that name rang a bell. He remembered hearing whispers in the lifestream, once he had been separated from Jenova, that she had actually been his mother.

            There was a picture and he could believe that she had been related to him. Her face and eyes, even her hair reminded him of himself.

            Then his eyes narrowed. Under her photo her description read _. "Hojo's assistant, Doctor Crescent, mother of Specimen C. Sephiroth Crescent- Status - **Deceased** Died in Childbirth"_

            He was the project C the file had been speaking of? Sephiroth frowned. Was the Cetra girl purposely playing a trick on him? Did she think he was foolish enough to believe this? He scoffed, then turned the page anyway.

            When his eyes landed on it, he about dropped the folder. There was a woman who looked strikingly like the Cloud he remembered. Her description read. _"Nibelheim native woman, Elle Strife, Mother of Specimen S, Cloud Strife. Status: **Deceased-** Died In Childbirth" _

            This was just beyond ridiculous. Cloud was at least 8 years younger than Sephiroth. None of these files made any damn sense. He threw the file to the ground and stalked out. It was obvious that he wouldn't get his answers here. Maybe Cloud could clear some things up when he woke.

            He stalked back up and through the mansion to the room he had left Cloud in. The boy was still sleeping soundly. He knew it couldn't be true, but, at least to satisfy his curiosity, he walked to Cloud's side. Even as a child, Sephiroth had always healed rapidly, so he pulled back one of the bandages on Cloud's head. Sephiroth couldn't say he'd ever been truly startled in his entire life, before now that was. The large gash, which had been along Cloud's forehead, was now just an angry red mark.

            Even worse, the boy started to stir. Sephiroth backed up a bit and Cloud sat up, opening his eyes.

            When he did, he started to scream. "NO NO NO!" He scrambled out of the bed. "NOT HERE AGAIN, NO!" He was in a dead panic and threw himself out of the bed.

            "Wait, calm down." Sephiroth said, grabbing the small child with both arms, pinning him to his chest.

            "NO PLEASE!" Cloud cried. Tears were running down his cheeks. "NOT AGAIN, PLEASE. LET ME GO, THEY SAID THEY WERE LETTING ME GO. NO MORE NEEDLES."

            "Just calm down, ok, no one is going to hurt you." Sephiroth said, he didn't have much experience dealing with children, but he had seen SOLDIERS with PTSD before and Cloud was showing signs.

            Sephiroth was surprised again when Cloud seemed to have enough strength to start forcing his arms apart.

            "No one is going to inject you with anything, Cloud. I only brought you here to tend your wounds. If you calm down, we can leave." Sephiroth said, trying to keep his tone neutral.

            "PLEASE." Cloud whimpered when he realized that he wasn't getting away easily.

            Sephiroth just stood with the boy still in his arms and practically ran out of the mansion. Once they were outside, Cloud's violent sobs turned into calmer tears as Sephiroth continued to hold him.

            Finally, when the boy settled, he looked up at Sephiroth and gasped. "You’re- you’re an Angel?"

            "An angel?" Sephiroth said, confused.

            "I see your wing, you’re an angel." Cloud said, no longer resisting Sephiroth hold.

            Sephiroth just glanced back over his shoulder to confirm that his wing was not currently out. What had the boy seen? And he had clearly said 'wing', not 'wings'. There were just too many questions and not enough answers.

            "Where are your parents, your home?" Sephiroth decided that he would start simple, but Cloud just tilted his head down.

            "My mother is dead, I don't have a home or a father." Cloud said, looking up at Sephiroth with tear stained, but mako green eyes.

            Had the reports been right? It wasn't possible, was it? Sephiroth was sure that his memory hadn't been that fractured.

            "What date is it, Cloud?" Sephiroth said smoothly.

            "Um, I'm not sure the day. They don't tell me. But I think it’s November 071 something." Cloud said with a smile before continuing. "My angel knows my name!"

            Sephiroth just looked to the sky for a moment, even if he was certain that it would hold no answers. The only things that were clear, were that Cloud had no one to take care of him and he couldn't stay in Nibelheim. How Sephiroth was suppose to help him, when Cloud was the only one that could see him, the silver haired man didn't know.

            "You'll come with me." Sephiroth said finally. "How long has it been since you've had a proper meal?"

            "Meal?" Cloud said, confused.

            "Eaten, Cloud, eaten until you were full?" Sephiroth asked again, the boy did look like he was slowly starving to death.

            "Um, I got some bread Mr. Kraus put out for the birds about two weeks ago, I think." Cloud said softly.

            Suddenly some of the guilt Sephiroth had for razing the town was gone. "You haven't eaten anything for two weeks? Nothing at all?" The boy really was starving to death. Only the mako in his system was keeping him alive.

            "No," Cloud said, shying away like he was expecting to be hit.

            "Come, the first thing we need to do is getting you food." Sephiroth said before standing.

            Cloud stood and stumbled a bit, ankle still weak, before Sephiroth bent over and picked him up, heading around the town and down the mountain. He didn't want to risk going near the reactor, or Rocket Town for that matter.

            "What's your name? Or do I just call you angel?" Cloud finally asked.

            "My name is Sephiroth." He said as the town shrank in the distance. Angel was too close to Angeal and he didn't want to think about that right now.

            "That's a nice angel name. Seph-i -i-roth." Cloud tried it out.

            Finally, when the town was a decent way in the distance, Sephiroth stopped. He walked over to an area where hikers had obviously used as a campsite before. There were already a few log benches surrounded by a make-shift fire pit. He sat Cloud down on a log. "Stay here, I'm going to start a fire, then I'll get you some food."

            Cloud just nodded and sat straight as a board on the log. He barely even blinked, Sephiroth noticed. "You can relax, just don't wander from the site." He finally said.

            "Oh." Cloud said, slumping a bit as his shoulders relaxed. He gave Sephiroth a sheepish look.

            Sephiroth continued his walk away from the camp, bending over and picking up firewood. He started analyzing everything he knew so far about this world.

            He had been sent here to help Cloud, who appeared to need more help than ever. Somehow, the scientific experiments that gave birth to Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis had been skewed. Genesis had proven to be the successful experiment. Angeal was never even mentioned in the paperwork Sephiroth had seen. Sephiroth himself had been determined a failure all the way around and given up for adoption. The oddest part of all was Cloud, who had been apparently born 8 years early and included in the original experiment, but later determined to be unstable and abandoned.

            This was some strange world indeed. And to top it off, it seemed he was stuck raising the boy. He had never liked children, but even he didn't have the heart to abandon Cloud again. Even if it hadn't been clear that his mission for redemption was to help the boy.

            He would have to find some place remote enough that his presence wasn't detected. It was obvious people couldn't see him, but he didn't want to take a chance. However, there would need to be a populace within a reasonable distance so they could retrieve supplies Sephiroth couldn't harvest from the wild.

            As he walked back to camp, Cloud was looking at the sky. "Do you come from the heavens? Doctor Hojo once said my mother came from there." The small boy asked.

            Sephiroth froze for a moment, before placing the logs down. "No, I didn't come from the heavens. I can't really explain where I came from. And I doubt your mother did either... What was her name?"

            "Jenova." Cloud said, looking over to Sephiroth. He wanted to say he was surprised, but somehow, in this crazy world, it made sense that Cloud believed Jenova was his mother.

            "She... was not your mother." Sephiroth said, not enjoying the irony. "Your mother was a woman by the name of Elle Strife."

            Cloud just looked at Sephiroth startled. "But Hojo-"

            "Hojo is a lying bastard. I should know." Sephiroth said as he attempted to start the fire.

            "I never liked him anyway." Cloud said, looking down. "Thank you for telling me, Sephiroth. And for taking care of me."

            Sephiroth stood, looking at the fire. "Don't worry about it, ok, you've had enough to worry about. I'm going to go get you some food. Just stay safe, ok?"

            "Ok." Cloud said with a nod, while Sephiroth left the camp again.

            Once out of camp, Sephiroth looked to the sky again. "Is this your idea of a joke?" He called. Again, no answer.

            "Fine, but I don't know how much help I'm going to be. I know how to deal with SOLDIERs, not with children!" He called out in frustration. "If you leave him with me, he'll become a SOLDIER, you realize that, right?"

            He just growled, before spotting his prey. The deer was dead before it even realized that Sephiroth was there. He had cut its head clean off.

            "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it my way." Sephiroth said firmly. He wasn't a parent. He didn't know how to coddle a child and really didn't want to. He could however make sure Cloud's needs were met and teach him how to fight, how to survive.

            When Cloud was old enough, he would send him to Shinra. Shinra would be able to care for the boy once he was 15. 9 years, Sephiroth just had to survive 9 years.

            Mind made up, he hauled the dear back to camp. The first lesson would be on how to properly prepare food.

* * *

 

            A year passed without much incident. Sephiroth had decided to settle 15 miles from Kalm on the other side of Midgar. It was close enough for what they needed, but far enough out of the way that no one bothered them.

            Sephiroth had tested his 'invisible' status and it was true that the only thing he couldn't interact with were other people. He had managed to build them a small log cabin home and had taken to training Cloud.

            "Now again." Sephiroth said, pushing the boy's feet together again. An hour a day, Sephiroth would instruct him on proper sword technique, a large straight wooden pole currently stood in for a real sword.

            Cloud had a look of concentration on his face, before he raised his 'sword' over his head and swung.

            "Good, now do it again." Sephiroth said, evaluating the 7 year old.

            Cloud did as he was told and brought the sword up again, doing his best to keep it straight.

            "Relax your grip or you will wear yourself out to soon." Sephiroth critiqued "Now again."

            Shifting his hands, he raised the sword again and swung.

            "That’s enough for today." Sephiroth finally said. "You may read or do something else recreational if you wish. In 2 hours, we will prepare dinner."

            "Yes, sir." Cloud said with a bow before running off. He only called his angel sir when they were training.

            Cloud dashed to his room, pulled his favorite book off the shelf and began to read. Sephiroth wasn't sure what the story was about, but it wasn't Loveless and that's all that mattered to him. Cloud loved to read and Sephiroth feared what would happen if Cloud ever got his hands on a copy.

            Sephiroth didn't know much about kids, but he was pretty sure Cloud wasn't normal. He never disobeyed, everything he owned was neat and tidy and he never complained about his chores or his sword work. Over all, he behaved like an obedient SOLDIER.

            Over the past year, Cloud had opened up to Sephiroth quite a bit. Sephiroth had vague memories of his childhood in a lab, but they had been nothing like Clouds. It seemed that, nearly every day until the project had been shut down, Cloud had been subjected to some kind of invasive test at Hojo's hands. The man had been desperate to prove that his subject was the better specimen. At least, that's what Sephiroth had gathered from the way Cloud talked. No wonder the boy had been determined to be unstable.

            Sephiroth hated to admit it, but the biggest thing he was worried about was the one thing he himself had lacked as a child, friends.

            Cloud was well on his way to becoming an introverted social outcast. Sephiroth just didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't like there were other kids to play without this far. And he couldn't spend too much time in Kalm without someone getting suspicious.

            "Cloud, do you ever get lonely?" Sephiroth said, stepping into the boy's room.

            "Why would I be lonely? You're always here." Cloud said with a confused look on his face.

            "I mean, I'm an adult. Don't you want someone your own age to play with?" Sephiroth replied.

            Cloud just scowled. "Why, so they can try and beat me up again?"

            Sephiroth just relented this line of questioning. It wasn't like there was anything he could have done if Cloud had actually wanted friends.

* * *

 

            "You're thirteen today, Cloud." Sephiroth said, as the boy stood stalk still, ready to begin his sword training for the day. They have moved it up to 3 hours when Cloud stamina had increased with age.

            "Yes, sir." Cloud said, but couldn't suppress his grin. Only two more years until he could go, join SOLDIER and make his angel proud.

            "I have a present for you." Sephiroth said, moving around behind the pile of firewood and handing Cloud something wrapped in cloth.

            Cloud just stared before pulling the cloth off and the hilt of a massive sword was revealed. He gripped it and uncovered it completely. He stared at the sword in awe. It wasn't First Tsurugi, Sephiroth couldn't have made that sword right now if he had wanted to. But he did remember that Cloud used to use a sword similar to it, if not this very sword.

            "I received Masamune at age 13. I thought it was time you had your own. It's called Ragnarok. Treat it well and it will last you a life time." Sephiroth said, a bit of pride in his voice.

            "Thank you, sir." Cloud said, running his hand along the blade to familiarize himself with it.

            "Since you haven't handled anything like Ragnarok before, we will start back at the basics and move up as you progress." Sephiroth said.

            Cloud just nodded, taking a defensive stance.

            "Swing" Sephiroth instructed and Cloud lifted the sword high, but when he brought it down, it went wide.

            "Adjust for the center of balance and try again." Sephiroth said, inspecting Cloud's stance.

            Cloud again did as he was instructed. Sephiroth wasn't kidding when he said that Cloud had never touched a sword like Ragnarok before.

* * *

 

            Cloud, now Fourteen, opened the door and placed Ragnarok down as he entered.

            "I've got the supplies." Cloud called as Sephiroth came out of the back of the house.

            "Good." Sephiroth said as Cloud sat the bags down.

            They had been running low on many things Sephiroth just couldn’t make out here in the woods, including several cooking herbs. As Sephiroth took out the items and inspected them, he noticed an addition.

            "Cloud, we don't have much gil, you can't buy something without asking. You know this." Sephiroth said, pulling out the news paper.

            "I didn't buy it. The man at the store gave it to me." Cloud protested.

            Sephiroth just looked at the cover and was startled. A picture of Genesis was plastered across the front. Only it wasn't Genesis. He was dressed in a full length black coat, with only red for trim, his hair was longer than normal too and pulled back into a pony tail. His eyes were much colder than Sephiroth remembered. Genesis had always been full of fire, this man seemed to be full of ice.

            The headline read **_"GENERAL GENESIS LEADS FIRST SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN AGAINST WUTAI"_**

            Sephiroth read through the article, which ended in a recruitment speech for SOLDIER. The tale was very familiar. The descriptions however were ones he remembered only being used on himself, never on his commander. What had happened to him in this world? Sephiroth pondered for a moment, before he realized _. 'Genesis was the success, they raised him like they did me.'_ It was the first time in his life he had felt compassion for Genesis Rhapsodos. "The fates are cruel indeed, my friend." He said softly, before nearly slapping himself. Next thing he knew, he would be the one reading Loveless.

            "No wonder they gave this to you. You looked to be about recruitment age. Didn't realize you already plan to join after your next birthday." Sephiroth said, though the statement didn't make him feel as happy as it once did.

            In the past 8 years, he had grown attached to the boy. He looked at him almost like a son. Sephiroth felt pride when Cloud accomplished things. Part of him wished he had never planted the seed in the boy's head.

            "Four months, right?" Cloud said, a rare grin on his face.

            Sephiroth just nodded. In four months, Sephiroth would lose the closest thing to a family he'd ever had.

 


	2. How to make friends and influence people

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice a few named characters that don't appear in the game. I had to make a few OC's mostly because Shinra has people in it OTHER then the main characters. They are only there to fulfill a particular role and have names because calling them "that guy over there." gets old. No OC will EVER become a main focus (or even a minor one) and the only one in this chapter likely to appear again is the Director. Though bonus points if you know where I got his name from.

            Sephiroth sat calmly next to the fire place as Cloud did the dishes from their meal. Next week would be Cloud's birthday and, in short order, he'd be leaving for Midgar and for Shinra.

            9 years ago, when Sephiroth had been lost and confused, doing what he could to ensure Cloud's survival until he could had the small child over to someone else was all he had thought about.

            He hadn't thought about Shinra being the source of Cloud's pain (and his). He hadn't thought about what would happen if Cloud showed up and Hojo discovered him. None of it had mattered, he had viewed raising Cloud as a mission.

            Sephiroth had spent Cloud's childhood filling him with the idea that one day he would go off, join SOLDIER and be the best. Cloud had eaten it up and had been almost single minded in his goal of joining the organization. Now that the day was here, Sephiroth regretted his actions more than anything else in this new life. How would he talk Cloud out of completing the one goal Sephiroth had given him?

            "Cloud, come here." Sephiroth said. The blonde just looked to his guardian and placed the bowl he was washing down, before quickly making his way over.

            "Is something wrong?" Cloud said, sensing the underlying tones in Sephiroth's voice.

            "I've been a fool, Cloud, and I need to talk to you about it." Sephiroth said with a sigh.

            The blonde just looked at the man curiously.

            "It's about SOLDIER, Cloud, I don't think you should go." Sephiroth said smoothly.

            He grimaced a bit when a devastated look crossed Cloud's face. "You don't think I'm ready?"

            "No, you're better prepared than men twice your age to join. There are just some things I never explained to you about SOLDIER and I should have." Sephiroth said, turning his gaze away slightly.

            Cloud stood listening. But the look of disappointment never left his face.

            "The man who had you in the mansion before I found you, Hojo, he's behind SOLDIER. You will see him again if you join and he will recognize you. Shinra is the one that funded the experiment. They were trying to create a perfect weapon. The General in the paper? He is another branch of the same experiment that created you." Sephiroth explained, it was time for Cloud to hear more of the truth.

            Cloud looked thoughtful for a moment. "If what you say is true, then I have to go."

            Sephiroth looked startled, this was not the reaction he was expecting. "What do you mean?"

            "He's alone, isn't he? I've had you at least, but you can see it in his eyes. He's alone. Maybe I can help him." Cloud explained.

            "Cloud, it will be dangerous and you may not be able to even get near him." Sephiroth stressed.

            "I'll be the best. I'm going to be able to meet him if I'm the best." Cloud said stubbornly.

            Sephiroth sighed in resignation. Cloud rarely if ever argued with his guardian, but when he did, there was no winning. The boy was now determined to help Genesis as much as he had been to join SOLDIER. There would be no stopping him. And deep down, he wondered: If someone like Cloud had reached out to him, how different history might have been.

            "Alright, you can go, but I'm coming with you." Sephiroth said, standing.

            "How? I didn't think you could, you know." Cloud said, moving his arms around.

            "Just because I can't interact with others doesn't mean I can't at least be some help to you." Sephiroth said, looking down at his charge.

            Cloud still looked a bit disappointed, but didn't argue.

            "Do you not want me around?" Sephiroth asked.

            "It's not that. I just... wanted to prove to you I could do something on my own. I wanted to make you proud." Cloud admitted.

            "Cloud, you're putting someone else's needs above your own. Someone you don't even know. You’re strong, intelligent and caring. I don't think I could be any prouder of you." Sephiroth said honestly.

            The boy offered him a small smile before he had an arm full of blonde hair. "Thank you."

            Sephiroth just wrapped his arms around Cloud. He swore then and there that he would do what it took to keep Cloud safe at Shinra.

* * *

 

            Cloud stood inside Shinra's lobby with 32 other SOLDIER hopefuls. Sephiroth, who was still only visible to Cloud, was standing against the far back wall watching.

            The other boys were talking animatedly amongst each other, playing around waiting for the people who would come process them. Cloud however was standing toward the back of the group, stalk still and quiet.

            Sephiroth was busy eying the other hopefuls when he stopped and stared... It couldn't be, could it? Of course, if Genesis was here too, then...

            "Hey Angeal, what do you think of that kid back there?" A young Sephiroth said, hair tied back in a ponytail. He had a relaxed look on his face.

            "Who?" A young Angeal Hewley asked. He was sporting short black hair and all the wrinkles Sephiroth remembered on his friends face were absent. The buster sword however was strapped across his back. At least some things never change.

            "The blonde in the back." Sephiroth said, stealing another glance over his shoulder. "He's acting like he's already a SOLDIER, poor kid." He laughed a bit. It was a very strange experience for the elder Sephiroth to stand there and watch his young doppelganger just laugh and carry on with Angeal. It seemed he and Genesis truly had switched places.

            "I don't know, he looks pretty focused. That's not a bad thing. You could stand to focus a bit more yourself." Angeal said, looking over at his friend.

            "I am focused." Sephiroth said, crossing his arms.

            "On your motorcycle. You sure you want to join SOLDIER and not the transportation department?" Angeal joked.

            "Very funny, Angeal." Sephiroth said, feigning hurt. "You're just worried because he's got a sword as big as yours. Looks fancier, too."

            "Hmph. Rich parents probably bought it for him. Likely doesn't even know how to use it." Angeal said. How wrong he was.

            "I don't know, he looks like someone who knows how to use a sword." Young Sephiroth replied.

            The conversation was ended as an older looking man the elder Sephiroth recognized as the director of SOLDIER before Lazard came walking through the doors, flanked by two 2nd Class SOLDIERs.

            "Quiet down, you little wretches. I'm sure you think you’re special for making it in here through the initial screening processes. But let me tell you something. Half of you will be going home today. The other half will be praying they did as we send your asses off to the cadet program to waste our time attempting to mold you into a proper SOLDIER. Don't be thinking any of you will slip on through to the main program. We've only had 5 in the company's history, including the General himself. None of you are that special." The man barked and Sephiroth remember his name, Garamonde.

            Cloud just stood still as ever while the rest of the recruits tried to do the same. Many were restless and fidgeting. Even the younger versions of Angeal and Sephiroth were having trouble staying still.

            "I see a few of you have decided to bring along a fancy kitchen knife. Let's see if you know how to use them." Garamonde said, pointing first to Cloud. "What's your name, boy?"

"Sir, Strife, Sir." Cloud answered clear and concise.

            "Well, at least you know how address an officer." Garamonde admitted as he checked Cloud's name on the list. "Go with Fairfax." He said, pointing to the SOLDIER on his right, before moving on "You." He said, pointing to Angeal. "Name."

            "Angeal Hewley, Sir." Angeal said, a little bit more nerves showing through.

            "You better toughen up if you don't want to get sent home. You're with Jacobs." The Director said, checking off Angeal's name. Cloud was already standing in front of his assigned SOLDIER as Angeal glanced at Sephiroth. His friend gave him a reassuring smile before Angeal went to stand before his SOLDIER.

            The two SOLDIERs led Cloud and Angeal back through the door and the elder Sephiroth followed. He was curious to know how Angeal's test would turn out, but if things stayed the same at all, he knew the man would floor his instructors and get him straight into the SOLDIER program. He wasn't worried about how Cloud would fair, but he was Sephiroth's main priority.

            "The rest of you all, just stay out of trouble, we'll get to you soon enough." Garamonde said as he walked through the doors behind the other two.

            As he followed the group, the elder Sephiroth realized where they were going. Maybe he would get to see both tryouts after all. When the director separated from the group, Sephiroth followed him. The man led him to an observation room that had training rooms on either side. 3 other men were already in the room. A moment later, Cloud entered one and Angeal entered the other.

            Before the exams could begin however, the doors flew open and Sephiroth nearly gasped. He had seen Genesis in the news papers, but he hadn't really understood how much the man had changed.

            He was at least 6 inches taller and Genesis hadn't been short before. It was likely something that had been done to him in the lab. His hair fell past his shoulder blades, was a bit duller than the red hair he had once sported and pulled back with a tie at the base of his neck. He was also so very, very young. Sephiroth hadn't remembered being that young himself, but he had been in the same position. He knew Genesis was really no older than the boys currently applying for SOLDIER. It was just another sign of how horrible Shinra really was.

            What he didn't remember was ever having to watch SOLDIER try outs.

            "What am I doing here?" Genesis demanded.

            "I'm sorry General, but we didn't have much of a choice. A 1st class must be present to approve the applicant's advancement and Perkins is currently in the infirmary. All the other 1st Class SOLDIERs are out on missions at the moment. Our numbers are thin thanks to the war." Garamonde explained, though his tone was neutral. He wasn't the least bit intimidated by Genesis.

            "Just get this over with." Genesis said before taking a seat.

            Sephiroth just watched as Garamonde pressed a button and a red light came on, indicating that the test was supposed to start. As the director had pointed out earlier, everything else had already been done. Physical and Mental evaluations, blood work to test for mako tolerance, everything. This was just to see what kind of talent they were working with.

            The goal? Survive against a 2nd Class SOLDIER for longer than 30 seconds. If you could do that, you moved on to the cadet program.

            Fairfax had already drawn his weapon and was swinging at Cloud when his sword was met with Ragnarok. The man fighting him almost looked startled that Cloud didn't budge an inch.

            Everyone in the observation box, except Sephiroth, was equally as startled, though Genesis managed to hide it well.

            "Well, I'll bet kid does know how to use that thing." Garamonde said, standing to watch the fight further.

            Sephiroth spared a glance at Angeal, who wasn't doing much better than dodging blows. But he only had to survive 10 more seconds to be able to move on to the cadet program. He wasn't sure what the man had done originally to impress his proctors, but Sephiroth feared that they would likely miss it. Cloud was much more impressive for a green recruit.

            As Cloud's spar continued, even Genesis stood and walked over to the teen's side of the room. Cloud was actually starting to swing back at Fairfax. He hadn't landed a hit yet, but he definitely wasn't some green recruit on the run, dodging hits and preying to survive.

            "Who is this kid?" Genesis finally asked, crossing his arms.

            "Cloud Strife, from the Kalm area." One of the other men in the room supplied.

            Genesis was going to say something else, but stopped when Ragnarok connected with the side of the SOLDIER's face, drawing blood. The fight was officially a minute in.

            Sephiroth looked back to Angeal, who had successfully made the 30 second mark, but if he didn't do something soon, he would be relegated to the training program. Of course, this might be all this Angeal was capable of. So much had changed in this timeline already. Sephiroth didn't even know if he had accidently been included in the experiment that created Genesis or not.

            Everyone but one of the proctors was focused on Cloud. The man had probably been specifically assigned to watch the other room.

            "He's pressing Fairfax." One of the proctors said in astonishment.

            "Look at his eyes, he's obviously had some exposure to mako." Genesis pointed out coolly.

            "He wouldn't be the first recruit who had a bit of a mako glow and none of them performed like this." Garamonde replied.

            "Either way, I think we have a SOLDIER candidate on our hands." Genesis said, before returning to his seat.

            Sephiroth's gaze had wandered back over to Cloud. He had assumed this would be the outcome, but he still like to see how long he'd go in his match.

            "Gentlemen, I believe you'll want to see this, too. I don't think it's quite as impressive as the other recruit, but Hewely as managed to survive for 3 minutes so far and is still on the move." The lone proctor watching Angeal said and Sephiroth almost smiled. Seeing both of them succeed would be a good day.

            "Well, then. It seems we've got some special recruits this year." Garamonde said as his gaze moved to the other room. After a moment of observation, he spoke again."He's not as good as Strife, that's true. But he warrants being considered for the advance program as well. "

            "We've only had one every few years. How can we have two in the same class?" A man in the back of the room spoke. He didn't appear to be one of the proctors and, as Sephiroth examined him, he seemed to be a representative from the Science department.

            "We shouldn't waste talent. If he can make it to 5 minutes, or actually land a blow on Jacobs, I'll move him along." Garamonde said, looking at his timer. Angeal only had a minute and a half to go.

            "I don't care what you do with Hewely, but if you don't stop Strife's examine, you’re going to need to find a new Second to continue with the other recruits." Genesis said. His eyes had never left Cloud. Sephiroth saw this as a good sign. Genesis in any life was likely to further investigate something that truly interested him.

            The others looked back over to Cloud's room and just in time for the blonde to disarm his SOLDIER opponent.

            "Get those two out of there. Strife's earned himself a ticket to 3rd Class, find a replacement for Fairfax. That man needs a break. I'd be writing him up if I hadn't seen the kid in action myself." Garamonde said, turning to the proctor assigned to Cloud. The man nodded and left the room.

            "You." The director said, pointing to the science department representative. "Get me anything you can on that Cloud Strife kid."

            Sephiroth stilled, having someone poke around too deeply in Cloud's file wouldn't be good. He would have to follow the man and do what he could to cover for Cloud. Before he left however, he overheard Garamonde response to Angeal. "Damn, 6 minutes, kid! He looks like he's about to fall over though. Someone get him out of there."

* * *

 

            Cloud took a step back from his opponent as the man's sword hit the floor. He hadn't realized until the match was over how frightened his sparring partner looked.

            "What the hell are you, kid?" Fairfax demanded.

            "He's now a 3rd Class SOLDIER. You're dismissed, Fairfax, go get your wounds taken care of. Someone else will test the rest of the recruits." The proctor said as he entered the room.

            Cloud simply turned and stood straight as Fairfax left the room.

            "Strife, come with me. You'll have to wait until the other recruits have had their exams, but the Director wants to speak with you personally." The proctor said, looking at Cloud.

            "Yes, sir." Clouds said and the man led the blonde out of the room.

            Cloud looked around, he hadn't seen Sephiroth since he entered the training room and was now beginning to get a little nervous. Was his guardian trapped somewhere? What could Cloud do about it if he was?

            "Wait here." The man said, opening a door to the lounge. "As long as we don't have any more like you and Hewely, we should be done in an hour or so."

            "Yes, Sir." Cloud said with a nod, sat Ragnarok against the wall and took a seat.

            Cloud was left alone for all of 5 minutes before the door opened again.

            "Wait in here with Strife, the director will be with the both of you when he can." The other man said as Angeal walked in the door.

            "Thank you." Angeal said politely to the proctor, before he slipped in the room and put the buster sword against the wall, much like Cloud had, before taking a seat across from the blonde.

            The proctor left and for the first time in his life Cloud was left alone with someone his own age.

            "That's pretty amazing that they are considering both of us for direct entry in the SOLDIER program, isn't it?" Angeal said, trying to start a conversation with Cloud.

            "I suppose, they said there were only 5 others. I wouldn't really know though." Cloud said, trying to be polite.

            "Where are you from? I lived here in Midgar, but you don't sound like you're from around here." Angeal said, encouraged that Cloud had actually spoken.

            "Outside Kalm." Was all Cloud said.

            "Where did you get your sword? The Buster Sword has been passed down by my family for generations." Angeal said, he wasn't sure why he wanted the man to open up so much. Maybe it was because of the interest Sephiroth had had in him. It seemed his friend was always the one introducing him to people. It was his turn to do the introducing.

            "My guardian gave it to me." Cloud said, before looking back towards the door. He was still hoping Sephiroth would appear soon.

            Angeal sighed, he wasn't good at near one-sided conversations. Maybe he should left this one to Sephiroth after all.

            They sat in silence for at least a half hour, before the door opened again.

            "It seems we've really got a great batch of recruits this fall." The proctor who had led Angeal back said as the young Sephiroth walked through the door.

            Angeal jumped up and hugged his friend. "You made it too!"

            Sephiroth just grinned and returned the hug. "Of course I did! I'm better than you, remember?" Sephiroth said with a smirk.

            Cloud was nearly in shock. This wasn't the Sephiroth he was expecting. The man looked so much like his mentor, it wasn't possible, was it.

            "You keep telling yourself that. Someone might actually believe it." Angeal said, moving to sit back down. Sephiroth sat next to him.

            "So who's your new friend?" Sephiroth asked, looking over towards Cloud.

            "I don't actually know his name. Well, other than Strife." Angeal replied as his eyes moved over to the blonde.

            "Cloud, Cloud Strife. Who are you?" He said, looking straight at Sephiroth.

            "Sephiroth Nojima, this is Angeal Hewley." Sephiroth said, holding out his hand.

            "Sephiroth, is that a family name?" Cloud asked, maybe this man was a cousin of his guardian.

            "Not that I'm aware of." Sephiroth said, glancing at Angeal before bringing his hand back to his side.

            "Hmm." Cloud hummed as he thought about what his fellow recruit just said. He would have to ask his Sephiroth later.

            The younger Sephiroth just looked at him confusedly, but decided to shake it off. Cloud seemed more than a bit odd.

            "So you think we'll get to meet the General?" Sephiroth asked and Angeal rolled his eyes.

            "Like he'd care about 3 green recruits, even if we did manage to make it straight into the SOLDIER program." Angeal said, shaking his head at his friend.

            "He might." Cloud said, startling the other two.

            "Why would he?" Angeal asked, looking over to the blonde.

            "If there are only 5 other people to do so in the history of the program and he's one of them, he may just want to see if we're anything like him." Cloud said, revealing a bit of his own hopes.

            "See Angeal, even Cloud's optimistic." Sephiroth said, pointing to the blonde.

            "I'm realistic, the General probably doesn't know we exist. I doubt he ever will." Angeal said, glancing at the ceiling.

            "If it were me, I'd like to find someone like myself." Cloud said, leaning his head on his hand.

            "There isn't anyone like the General. I would like to meet him, but Angeal's right. People like the General, they don't need anyone else." Sephiroth said, looking over at his friend.

            "Everyone needs someone." Cloud said, before he grew silent again.

            "Well, even if that's true, I doubt its one of us." Angeal said, looking back down.

* * *

 

            The elder Sephiroth followed close behind the man from the science department. As expected, he headed to the labs and immediately started searching the company data base. A brief search on Cloud was done when he first applied for the Shinra program, but what the scientist was currently doing was more in-depth.

            "What are you doing, Arty?" A female scientist said, walking over to the man at the computer.

            "There was this kid, a recruit, wiped the floor with a 2nd, Fairfax. He had a bit of a mako glow, but nothing too special. The director wants me to make sure there isn't anything weird about the kid." The man named Arty said, pushing his glasses back up his nose a bit.

            "Really now, I haven't heard of anyone doing that well since the General. I can see why Garamonde is suspicious." The woman said, leaning on the desk.

            "Well, the kid's suspicious alright. He can't be one of Hojo's, though." Arty said.

            "That lunatic probably isn't even still alive." The woman said, shifting her weight a bit so she could see the computer screen better.

            "Well, you know they've been waiting for him to pull something since he left several years ago. Never took Hollander taking Gast's spot well. Pumping a kid full of mako and sending him off to infiltrate Shinra is something the man would do." Arty said, sparing the woman a glance.

            "Yah, well, you said this wasn't him." She said before humming a bit, reading the information on the screen.

            "Hojo would have had perfect records of the kid, immunizations, grade school test scores, the works. According to the public database, this kid didn't exist before he showed up at Shinra's door. Says he grew up in the woods around Kalm, parents must of been the weird reclusive type. Wonder how the kid even knows Shinra exists." Arty said, leaning back in the chair. "Either way there ain't nothing here to keep him out of the program."

            Sephiroth took in everything he had just learnt. This world's Hojo had been denied the position of head of the Science department. Likely because of the reverse in the experiments. He was gone, but the bottom line was that he wasn't here to recognize Cloud and even the science department didn't have copies of the experiment ran on his charge.

            It felt like a large weight had been lifted from Sephiroth's shoulders. Cloud would be safe, at least from Hojo.

* * *

 

            Cloud nearly jumped when door opened again. He had been so lost in thought over the connection between the Sephiroth here and his Sephiroth. They were obviously very different people. His Sephiroth had never talked this much. 'Seph', as Cloud was calling the boy in his mind, seemed to be full of energy. He and Angeal discussed several different topics in the time between and even his raven haired friend had trouble keeping up.

            Now however he was quiet as Director Garamonde entered the room.

            "I won't lie, you three are impressive. But don't think you've got it easy from here on out. You'll be worked to the bone. Those boys we accepted into the cadet program today get a lead up to your hell. You're getting thrown straight into the fire." The Director said, looking at all of them. "Because of red tape, and only red tape, you three will have the rest of the afternoon off, while the president approves your entrance into SOLDIER. I wouldn't spend it lying around, if you know what's good for you.

            "Jacobs will be showing you to your room. The three of you will be sharing quarters here. Lucky you. You three are to report to the main training hall tomorrow at 0700, and you can show us what you're really made of. Now I've spent enough time on you pansies. Get out of my sight." Garamonde barked.

            "Yes, Sir." Cloud said, snapping to attention before grabbing his sword and heading out into the hall where Jacobs was standing. Sephiroth and Angeal followed close behind.

            "So you're the one that took down Fairfax?" Jacobs said, looking Cloud up and down. He knew the other two and had been impressed with them. It was only after the exams were over had he learned what had happened in the other training room.

            "Yes, sir." Cloud said with a bit of a nod.

            "You mean you actually defeated your SOLDIER opponent?" Sephiroth said, almost gaping at the man.

            "Didn't you two? I assumed that's why you were in there with me." Cloud said, looking between Sephiroth and Angeal as the group, including Jacobs, had stopped in the hall.

            "No, man, these guys put up a good fight, good enough for 3rd Class. But you man. Well. I'm surprised they didn't move you one up anyway. Fairfax is about the best in our class, everyone was sure he was going to be the next one promoted to First. Though when word gets around that he was beaten by a recruit, I don't know if that will be the case anymore." Jacobs said, shaking his head, but it was obvious he wasn't too upset at Fairfax's loss.

            Cloud just shrugged, "I just did what they told me to do."

"Well, don't feel bad about it. Man needed to be knocked down a peg anyway. Let’s get you to your rooms, though. Third class quarters aren't much. There's usually 4 to a unit, but under the circumstances it's just you three. 4 bed rooms, a bathroom, something that passes for a kitchen and a living room that's smaller than the bed rooms. You won't be spending much time there anyway." Jacobs said as he led them to an elevator.

            "Sounds perfect." Sephiroth said with a grin.

* * *

 

            The elder Sephiroth looked around. He had done what he needed to do and was glad for it. They didn't have to worry about Hojo anymore and no one seemed too suspicious of Cloud. Finding his young charge however was a different story.

            Logically, he assumed that Cloud would be moved to the SOLDIER dorm soon. Sephiroth however had no idea when or if he would arrive and no way to ask about him. Splitting from Cloud had seemed like a good idea and had yielded important information, but now it almost seemed foolish.

            Sephiroth stood in front of the dorms, about to walk away, when he spotted Cloud following one of the SOLDIERs that had administered the tests, as well as his past self and Angeal. He knew he would have to explain a few things to Cloud. He just wasn't sure how. Cloud had never questioned where Sephiroth had come from and Sephiroth had never felt comfortable explaining his past. Now it seemed he would have to reveal at least a part of it.

            When Cloud spotted him, the blonde seemed to visibly relax. Of course Cloud had been nervous at his absence. As the group approached, he slipped behind them and placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

            Cloud just smiled a bit and placed his hand on top of his guardians.

            He was at Shinra, he had made SOLDIER and Sephiroth was still with him. Now he just had to grab the attention of a certain General. Little did he know that said General already had the blonde recruit on his mind.

 


	3. Confessions of a Teenage Super SOLDIER.

              

            Cloud sat his sword down on his bed. His things, few as they were, had already been delivered to the dorm. Sephiroth stood behind him. Neither one had said anything yet. Cloud opened his trunk and started to put his personal things away.

            "I'm surprised you haven't asked me about your roommates yet." Sephiroth said.

            "I have to admit I'm curious. He even has your name. Who is he to you?" Cloud said as he placed a pair of pants into his dresser drawer.

            "He is me, or at least another version of me." Sephiroth explained with a sigh. "There are a lot of things I never told you, not just about Shinra."

            Cloud said nothing and Sephiroth was starting to get a little nervous. He had lied by omission for the boy's entire life.

            "I'm sure you had a reason. You always have a reason for what you do, even if I didn't understood it at the time." Cloud said finally, putting away his socks.

            "This time the only reason is because I was afraid." Sephiroth admitted.

            "Afraid?" Cloud said, turning to his guardian. Sephiroth being afraid of anything was unthinkable to Cloud.

            "Afraid of what you'd think." He said with a sigh.

            "Is he a clone?" Cloud asked, he had read about clones in one of his books. Sephiroth did seem to have extensive knowledge of scientific things.

            "No," Sephiroth said swiftly. There had been enough clones of himself to last 2 lifetimes. "Like I said, he is me."

            Now Cloud was really confused.

            "I don't understand it much myself. I was never given any answers." Sephiroth started, "But from what I've gathered over the years, I am originally from another version of this world."

            "That's why you know so much?" Cloud asked softly.

            "I know some things, my knowledge in this world is incomplete because things seemed to have happened differently. The man I was worried about you running into, Hojo, is no longer with Shinra for example." Sephiroth explained.

            "Did you know me before? Is that why you took care of me?" Cloud asked. His voice had gone neutral. It was the question Sephiroth had feared all along.

            "That's complicated." Sephiroth said, not wanting to lie, not anymore. "I was not a good person in my old life. When I first came to this world, I was just as lost as you were. Over time I've changed, you've changed me. You're not the same person I knew either. Trust me when I say, as I stand before you now, I care only about you and not the person I used to know."

            "Were you close to him?" Cloud asked again, but his voice was beginning to slip back into its old tone.

            "He was the man who killed me." Sephiroth admitted. Cloud looked shocked. Sephiroth just continued. "I asked for a chance at redemption after my death and I was sent to you."

            "Is that why no one else can see you?" Cloud asked softly. He wasn't sure how to take what his guardian had just told him.

            "I assume so." Sephiroth said with a nod. He was still nervous.

            "So you really are my Guardian Angel?" Cloud said with a small smile and Sephiroth was relieved.

            "I suppose I am." Sephiroth said as he returned Cloud's smile.

* * *

 

            "We did it, Ange, we made it into SOLDIER first day." Sephiroth said, flopped on his friends bed. Angeal was currently putting his things away. Sephiroth had just shoved his trunk in his closet to deal with later.

            Angeal let a small grin slip on his face. "Yeah, we did. I didn't believe we could when you first mentioned it, but here we are."

            "What about Cloud? You serious think he beat a top ranked SOLDIER 2nd?" Sephiroth said, rolling over onto his stomach.

            "I don't think they would have lied about that." Angeal said, making sure his shirts were neat.

            "I mean that just doesn't happen, does it? I'd heard rumors about when the General joined, but this is pretty major, isn't it?" Sephiroth said, watching Angeal put his underwear away.

            "I think you've got a crush on him." Angeal said with a bit of laugh.

            Sephiroth shook his head. "I'll admit he's pretty hot, but seriously he'd chew me up and spit me out. Guys like that don't mess around."

            Angeal just let his small chuckle turn into a full blown laugh. "Probably, but that's never stopped you before."

            "Yah well," Sephiroth said, "If I'm going to get burnt, I've got my sights set a little higher."

            "I've told you, I doubt the General will ever even know you exist." Angeal said, trying to bring his friend back down to reality.

            "You've got to have dreams, Angeal." Sephiroth said, looking up at the ceiling.

            "And honor. I don't see how lusting after your commanding officer is honorable." Angeal pointed out.

            "I'm not being creepy about it. It's not like I plan to steal a lock of his hair or his underwear or something and hide it under my bed." Sephiroth said

            "So you say." Angeal said, shaking his head.

            "I'm not a stalker." Sephiroth insisted.

            Angeal walked over and sat down next to Sephiroth. "We should go put your things away."

            "I did put my things away." Sephiroth replied, rolling back over on his back.

            "I doubt that." Angeal said before standing.

            "Fine, but I swear if you fold my underwear, I'm going to strangle you in your sleep." Sephiroth said, following Angeal out of the room.

* * *

 

            Genesis sat alone in his room, holding Cloud Strife's recruitment file in his hands. No one in the entire program had ever intrigued him as much as this person. He had literally come from nowhere and walked his way into SOLDIER like it was child's play. And then there were his eyes. They had a faint mako glow already, that was true, but they didn't look like a normal 15 year old's eyes. They looked like his own.

            "Are you the one who's finally going to challenge me?" Genesis said, looking at the photo.

            He had hoped for years to find someone like him. Hollander had told him it was pointless. There was no one like him. No one could equal him. Genesis was a god among men.

            " _Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul"_ Genesis whispered as he sat the file down.

            There was no point in hoping. Either this Cloud Strife would measure up or he wouldn't. Only time would tell.

* * *

 

            Cloud stood, heading for the door, Sephiroth had chosen to stay behind. The man had decided to claim the empty room, giving Cloud back some of his privacy. Knowing Hojo wasn't around made Sephiroth relax a bit. He was more content to let Cloud do things on his own.

            As Cloud's hand hit the door knob however, he heard Sephiroth's voice. "Where you going?"

            It took his mind a moment to register that it was 'Seph', not his Sephiroth.

            "I thought I'd find the training ground and get some practice in before tomorrow." Cloud finally replied.

            "Sweet, mind if we come with? We were trying to decide what to do." Sephiroth said, motioning to Angeal, who was standing behind him.

            Cloud looked away, feeling a bit nervous. He wasn't used to dealing with people his own age, even if one of those people was apparently a different version of his guardian.

            "I can hardly stop you from using the training ground." Cloud finally said before opening the door and heading out.

            "Ice, man, Ice." Sephiroth said, shaking his head before following.

            "Where are you going?" Angeal asked, looking at his friend.

            "He didn't say no, now, did he? How are we gonna break through his shell if we don't annoy him a bit?" Sephiroth said with a smirk.

            This was why Sephiroth had more friends and enemies, Angeal realized as he shook his head and followed his friend anyway.

            The elder Sephiroth stood in his doorway, almost stunned. Who would have guessed that he was the socially forward one? It seemed a lot more than Cloud's age had changed in this world.

            "I really don't know anything about this world, do I?" He whispered to himself before retreating to his room.

* * *

 

            Cloud sighed as he looked at the two in front of him. He had no idea what to say, so he said nothing and turned, starting to go through his practice exercises.

            "Come on, Angeal, let’s go spar." Sephiroth said.

            "You always want to spar." Angeal said, rolling his eyes as his friend walked over to the training cabinet and pulled out two broadswords.

            Cloud was attempting to ignore them, but he couldn’t figure out why the man had taken out two swords. There was no way he could dual wield them. It got even odder when 'Seph' handed one of the swords to Angeal.

            He tried to focus on himself, making sure he did everything with the precision Sephiroth had taught him. But it was hard, these two were just so _bad._

            Angeal was too quick with the broadsword, as in it was always ahead of where he wanted it to be. It was obvious that he was used to training with a heavier weapon. Why he didn't just use the sword on his back, Cloud didn't know. On top of everything, he continually left his right side open.

            'Seph' was just sloppy. It was obvious he had raw talent and was very strong, but he completely relied on those facts. There was barely any strategy to his movements. He had even seemed to notice the openings Angeal had and wasn’t taking advantage of them. That was likely why Angeal didn't seem to care to compensate for it.

            He realized that these two wouldn't last a week under his Sephiroth's training, and further more were probably going to get laughed out of SOLDIER if they showed up tomorrow still with all these glaring flaws.

            "Stop please." Cloud said, slipping Ragnarok on his back.

            "I'm sorry, if we were bothering you." Angeal said, backing away from Sephiroth.

            "You weren't, at least not in the way you're probably thinking." Cloud said, shaking his head. "I just... how did you get past the proctors fighting like that?"

            "We were just messing around." Sephiroth said a bit defensively.

            "Even then." Cloud said, looking over at Angeal. "Why don't you use your sword? You’re better suited for it."

            "I never use it unless I have to. It's a family heirloom and I don't want to bring on unnecessary wear and tear." Angeal explained, also getting a bit defensive.

            "That's just insulting." Cloud said almost astonished. "That sword was made for combat. It's an impressive weapon. If you know how to properly care for it, then you shouldn’t have to worry about 'wear and tear'. I can show you if no one's ever taught you properly."

            Angeal didn't know if he should be angry at Cloud for talking to him this way or just thrilled that the man was talking to him at all. Finally he said: "It would be nice to know how to properly care for the Buster. I never learned from my father."

            Cloud just nodded, then turned to Sephiroth. "And you're just a mess. You have a lot of talent you’re just wasting. Where did you learn to fight?"

            Sephiroth looked a little taken aback and Cloud noted how odd it was to be in this position with 'Seph'.

            "I learned from some of the instructors around town, books, TV and sparing with Angeal." Sephiroth finally admitted.

            "Your stance is too broad, your swings are too wide, and you use way too much energy when you fight. If you ever get into a fight with someone who can match you, you'll lose simply from wearing yourself out. You need more control." Cloud pointed out rapidly and Sephiroth just blinked at him.

            "You figured out all of this by watching us spar for 10 minutes?" Angeal asked astounded.

            "Well, I did figure out you leave your right side open and that Sephiroth pays way to much attention to his hair when he fights, but I figured we could cover that later." Cloud said, nerves hitting him again. He finally realized he'd thrown himself into a conversation with these two.

            "Do you have any suggestions on what to do about it?" Sephiroth said, turning Cloud's attention back to him.

            "By tomorrow? No. But if you seriously want to improve, we can figure out what our schedules are like and I can work with you after hours." Cloud said, shifting his weight a bit.

            Sephiroth started to groan, extra work was not something he was looking forward to. But if it was time spent with Cloud, it would be worth it. Especially if he improved enough to get noticed by the General.

            "Alright." Sephiroth finally said and Angeal nodded.

            "Well, if that's the case, for now we can at least work on some of your basics." Cloud said, walking around behind Sephiroth. "Relax your shoulders a bit and bring your feet closer together. Your center of balance is all off. "

            "Yes sir." Sephiroth said with a bit of a smirk. Angeal just rolled his eyes at his friend's shameless flirting, but Cloud seemed to have missed it all together.

* * *

 

            Genesis stood in the observation deck above the training room. He had been on his way to the VR room for some personal training when he had spotted the mass of blonde hair that had come to hold his attention.

            He watched the recruit making his way into the training room, trailed by the other two and had decided to see what they were up to.

            Genesis had been about ready to leave, Cloud was just practicing and the other two were making fools of themselves, when he saw Cloud stop their spar.

            He listened to the blonde's critique and thought it a bit harsh, amazing for him. The two weren't perfect, but they were better the most of the useless bodies which applied for SOLDIER. They really weren't any worse than the other men already in the program.

            The flaws that Cloud had managed to pick out amazed Genesis. Not only did his blonde know how to fight, he knew how to watch others. It was a deadly ability in on the battlefield, but served instructors back home as well.

            When Cloud asked the silver haired boy where he had learned to fight, Genesis found himself wanting to ask the same question himself. Who had trained this boy?

            "You just get more and more curious, don't you." Genesis whispered, looking down, arms crossed.

            He stared in fascination as Cloud tried to instruct the two others in the room. Several of the things he was showing them could be difficult for some 2nds or even a few of the new 1sts. The thing was, Genesis was certain that this Cloud Strife wasn't showing off. He'd seen plenty of braggarts in his day. The blonde really though that these were maneuvers the other two would need to know.

            "You will fight me." Genesis said with a bit of determination in his voice. He pulled out his phone and checked the schedule for mako injections. Cloud and 2 others, a Sephiroth Nojima and an Angeal Hewley, were scheduled for next week. Genesis assumed that the other two where Cloud's current companions.

            "That won't do." Genesis said to himself. Using a technique he had picked up from some of the Turks he had worked with, he shifted the schedule around, pushing a couple of newly promoted 2nds back and placing the three in front of him in the slot 2 days from now. He would have only changed Cloud, but that would have been too suspicious.

            In one fluid movement, he closed his phone and dropped it into his pocket. "Don't disappoint me, Cloud Strife." Genesis said as he turned and left the observation deck.

* * *

 

            Sephiroth flopped on his bed. "Ok, I take it back, he's not made of ice. He's just insane."

            Angeal laughed a bit. "I think we got lucky."

            "You call that lucky!" Sephiroth said, pointing in the vague direction of Cloud's room.

            "We'll learn a lot more from him than we would on our own. Yes, I think we're lucky, lucky he wants to take the time to teach us. You just don't like working hard. I still think you'd have been better off in the transportation department." Angeal said, crossing his arms, grinning down at his friend.

            "Very fun, Ange." Sephiroth said, kicking his boots off.

            "Either way, we should thank him, do something for him." Angeal said, thoughtful.

            "They only thing we could do for him is teach him how to have a good time." Sephiroth said with a bit of a laugh. Then thought about it a bit more.

            "Oh no, you don't. I know that look." Angeal said, backing away from Sephiroth a bit.

            "But that's a really good idea. He needs to get laid." Sephiroth said with a grin.

            "You think everyone needs to get laid." Angeal said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I don't think he's interested in sex. Or really anything other than swords."

            "It's not healthy. He'll snap under pressure." Sephiroth said, trying to sound serious.

            "Let me guess, you've got the perfect person in mind." Angeal said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

            Sephiroth thought for a moment. "I just need to figure out how to get him interested. He wasn't picking up on anything during the training."

            "Here's an idea, he may just not be interested. So why don't you try focusing on the training instead of trying to get in his pants?" Angeal pointed out. Sometimes he didn't know why he hung out with Sephiroth.

            "I suppose it would distract me from my main goal." Sephiroth relented.

            "You make me sick sometimes, you know that?" Angeal said, slightly annoyed.

            "You know you love me." Sephiroth said with a grin.

            "Just stop talking about people like they’re objects to have sex with. You need to have more respect for yourself and other people." Angeal said, crossing his arms.

            "Alright, alright." Sephiroth said with a sigh. Pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it in the corner. "You know me, Angeal."

            Angeal just shook his head. "I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

            "Yah yah." Sephiroth said. "Enough with the heavy stuff, I'm beat."

            "Fine, just actually sleep. I don't think tomorrow will be an easy day." Angeal said, leaving the room.

            Sephiroth just stuffed his pillow up under his head before kicking his pants off. He had a lot to think about.

* * *

 

            "So how did your training go?" Sephiroth asked Cloud as the blonde sat his sword down.

            "Weird." Was all Cloud said as he took his shirt off and placed it in his laundry hamper.

            "How so?" Sephiroth asked, leaning against the wall. He had promised not to come and observe Cloud. Instead he did what he could to acclimate himself with this new world. Something he should have done 9 years ago. Some of the changes had been rather surprising.

            "They followed me." Cloud said, referencing his new roommates.

            "Was that such a bad thing?" Sephiroth asked, he had hoped that Cloud would make friends here.

            "It was weird, like I said. I don't understand." Cloud said, shaking his head.

            "What was there not to understand?" Sephiroth asked. How bad were Cloud's social skills?

            "Them, they... they were horrible. I don't know how they let them in the front door." Cloud said, a bit frustrated.

            Sephiroth looked at him a moment before he realized what his charge said, then let out a small laugh. "They aren't so bad. Actually well above average to have made it into SOLDIER with you. You're very skilled, Cloud. Just go a bit easier on them, ok?"

            "It was just so surreal, to see someone who looked so much like you, so sloppy. He's strong, but that's about it. He admitted to learning some of his skills from the Television!" Cloud said, raising his voice a bit.

            Sephiroth took a moment to process it. "You aren't serious." He finally said, trying to fathom any life time that he would have learned anything from one of those big black boxes.

            "You see!" Cloud said before sitting on his bed and taking his boots off.

            "This world is indeed odd." Sephiroth acknowledged.

* * *

 

            Cloud stood dressed in the uniform, helmet and all, that had been delivered that morning. Sephiroth and Angeal stood next to him.

            "Listen up, you whelps. Just because the General, the Director and the President all signed off on you doesn't mean I'm convinced you're SOLDIER material." A First Class, who Cloud hadn't caught the name of, walked back and forth in front of the Trio.

            "Since you haven't had your mako injections yet, they won't let me do - much." The man said as he punched in a set of numbers on a security pad.

            "This is the Virtual Reality training room. Or VR room for short. Your objective today is not to die. Now get your asses in there." The man barked. Cloud gave a quick salute and hurried into the room, Angeal and Sephiroth were close behind him.

            The lights flickered on and the three of them were surrounded by the Corel Desert. Cloud quickly pulled his sword off his back and the other two seemed to follow his lead.

            His eyes were searching and his senses were alert. When something popped out of the sand, Cloud sword had connected with it before the other two could even register they were being attacked.

            "Move!" Cloud screamed at them as a large sand worm reared up out of the desert.

            Angeal and Sephiroth didn't hesitate to follow his order, both had their weapons drawn.

            They fought the sandworm together, mostly coordinated through Cloud. His Sephiroth had taught him how to issue clear and concise orders, but he'd never been able to put it into real practice before.

            It was still a long and hard fought battle. The only one who seemed to be able to do meaningful damage was Cloud. Coupled with the fact that the thing regenerated, they really weren't making any headway and were starting to lose ground.

            "Get back, I'm going to try something." Cloud yelled at the other two, who quickly followed his orders and fled to a small rock outcrop, while Cloud kept the creature from pursuing.

            When he was certain that the others were in the clear, Cloud crouched down, before taking a leap and landing on the creatures back.

            "I told you, freaking insane!" Sephiroth hissed from behind the rock. Angeal just kept watching the blonde.

            He ran his sword down the thing's back as it flailed. Cloud used his sword that was embedded in the creature to keep his balance as he moved. Finally, when he reached the creature's head, he ripped the sword out of it back and slashed, severing the head in one go. As it came crashing down, he leaped off of it and rolled.

            Before the body was fully collapsed, the lights flickered and they were back in the training room.

            Cloud stood, as Angeal and Sephiroth moved, now hiding behind a nonexistent rock.

            The doors hissed open and the First they had been assigned to walked in. His face contained a mixture of anger and awe.

            "Seriously, I told you your objective was not to die. What the hell made you think fighting the thing was a good idea?" The man finally said, looking at the three.

            "Well, Sir, its dead and we're not." Was all Cloud said.

            The man looked almost livid for a moment, but couldn't argue Cloud's logic. "Get out of here, go get something to eat and be back in an hour."

            "Yes Sir." Cloud said and Angeal and Sephiroth weakly mimicked him before the three of them left the VR room.

            It wasn’t long before they were sitting in the mess hall eating lunch. The air had been a bit heavy until now, but Sephiroth wasn't the type to let things bother him for long.

            "So Cloud, I was talking to Angeal, and we thought we'd go out this weekend and have a good time. Celebrate and all. You should come with us." Sephiroth said, looking at the blonde. Angeal just groaned internally.

            Cloud just looked at Sephiroth a bit confused. "Go out? Go where?"

            "You know go out, hit the streets, go to a club, something." Sephiroth said, before taking a drink of his soda.

            Cloud still looked confused. "Club?"

            "Oh wow, you really don't know." Sephiroth said before glancing at Angeal.

            "Leave me out of this." Angeal said, holding up his hands.

            "What's the point?" Cloud finally asked.

            "The point? The point is to relax and have fun. You do know what that is, don't you?" Sephiroth said, looking back to the blonde.

            "Oh," Cloud said, thinking for a moment. "I usually read a book."

            Sephiroth nearly fell out of his chair.

            "That's a very good pastime, Cloud." Angeal said, shaking his head at Sephiroth.

            "You need to live a little." Sephiroth said, looking almost horrified.

            "Sephiroth, I've told you to leave him alone. If he doesn't want to go out, he doesn't want to." Angeal said.

                        "He doesn't even know what it is!" Sephiroth said, holding his arms out.

"Well S-my guardian. He did always say it was good to try out new things." Cloud said, glad he had corrected himself so quickly.

            "See Angeal, it's good to try new things." Sephiroth said with a grin.

            "So yah, when does that apply to you?" Angeal said, raising an eyebrow.

            "Hush now," Sephiroth said, before turning back to Cloud. "We'll go out Friday night. I'll get it all planned out. Don't worry."

            Angeal just groaned and Cloud was still completely lost. He just hoped this counted as trying to make new friends.


	4. When you wish upon a sword.

 

            Cloud stood, dressed, just outside the Science department's door. Sephiroth stood behind him, just because Hojo wasn't here didn't mean that he had suddenly started to trust Shinra's scientists. Hollander was equally as sick and twisted as Hojo had ever been.

            Angeal and Sephiroth, who seemed to have slipped comfortably into to a pattern of defaulting to Cloud for leadership, were warily standing behind the blonde.

            "I hate needles." The younger Sephiroth said as a shiver went down his spine.

            His older counterpart just raised an eyebrow. It seemed to be one of the few things they had in common.

            "What did I tell you? Transportation department." Angeal laughed a bit as the doors swished open.

            "I'm not fond of needles either." Cloud said, a bit quietly.

            A young woman with her brown hair in a bun and glasses on her face walked out with a clipboard. "Strife, you're up first. Follow me, you two can take a seat in the lounge." The woman said, pointing a door to the left.

            "Yes, mama." They chorused together.

            Cloud slipped into the lab, his Sephiroth close behind as the other two followed orders into the lounge.

            "Take your shirt off and that helmet, you may remove your boots, but it isn't necessary." The woman said, looking over her clipboard.

            Cloud silently did as she asked, while the woman walked around the side of a lab table.

            "You are one Cloud Strife, correct?" The woman asked.

            "Yes, mama." Cloud responded with a nod.

            "Good, now lay down on the table." She instructed.

            Cloud did as he was told again and laid out flat. The woman set her clipboard down and proceeded to restrain him.

            The blonde quickly glanced at his mentor and a slight nod let him know that this was normal. With that Cloud relaxed a bit.

            "Since you already have mako in your system, this will work a little different. We'll be giving you essentially boosters until your body starts to respond negatively. You'll likely be a little sick the rest of the day, but it will ensure you get the proper dosage." She explained.

            "I'm going to put you to sleep now," She said, lifting a mask over his face. A bit of panic started to rise in Cloud. The lab, the restraints, the needles and now being knocked out. It was bringing back memories of a childhood he thought he'd long forgotten.

            The nurse, thinking it was normal nerves, just continued anyway and Cloud's eyes flashed a bit bright from the mako in his system as Sephiroth walked over and placed a hand on Cloud's arm.

            "It's alright, I'll be here." Sephiroth said soothingly.

            Cloud's eyes met his guardian and he calmed for a moment, just in time for the sleeping gas to do its job.

* * *

 

            "So this is the one that's caught everyone's attention?" Hollander said, standing over the passed out blond SOLDIER.

            Sephiroth was on edge. He had relaxed a bit when he had discovered that Hojo was gone. Hollander here however could be just as bad. He was staring at Cloud, a thousand different experiments surely on his mind.

            "Yes Sir." The woman said as the 4th mako booster made its way into Cloud's system. So far all of his vital signs were stable.

            "I want a sample of his blood." Hollander finally said and Sephiroth's eyes narrowed.

            "No, you don't" Sephiroth said as the nurse went to open the cabinet. Sephiroth placed his hand on the door. There was no way he was going to let Hollander get a sample of Cloud's blood to scrutinize.

            "Sir, it won't open." The woman said, tugging on the cabinet.

            "Worthless, the lot of you." Hollander snapped as he went over and tried to tug it open.

            "Go call maintenance. I'll take care of the blood sample." Hollander said before turning and leaving the room.

            Sephiroth glanced between the two as they made their ways out of the room. Quickly, he attempted to undo the binding on Cloud's arms. He was about finished with his last booster, so it would be safe to take him.

            However, he wasn't fast enough as the woman walked back in the room, talking on the phone and examining the cabinet.

            "Look, the professor told me to call you. I really don't think you'll like what happens if I have to get him on the phone." The woman had a bit of annoyance in her voice.

            She was still distracted, so Sephiroth finished undoing the restraints. Getting Cloud out of here would be another story however.

            His window of opportunity closed completely as Hollander walked back into the room.

            "Here, now I do believe you can handle taking a simple blood sample." Hollander said, shoving the items into her hand.

            As she walked over to Cloud, she looked at his opened restraints curiously. The man was clearly out however as she proceeded to take Cloud's blood. Sephiroth was unable to stop her.

            When she was done, she labeled the vial and put in a metal cabinet. Sephiroth resolved to stay and remove the vial before someone else could retrieve it. If someone tried to take it before, then he would just stop them like he had with the supply cabinet.

            The woman brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face before starting Cloud on another mako booster.

* * *

 

            When Cloud awoke in the recovery room, he noticed that Angeal and Sephiroth were both still unconscious. The next thing he noticed was his Sephiroth standing against the wall looking grim. Cloud about asked him a question when the man pointed at a security camera. They had talked a bit more last night and realized communication outside of Cloud's quarters was not good. Well, at least Cloud talking to Sephiroth. If anyone saw a security feed of it, they would think Cloud was talking to himself.

            Sephiroth however could still talk to Cloud. "Hollander ordered a vial of your blood to be taken during you enhancements. He's curious about you."

            Cloud looked down at the blanket he had been covered in. He didn't understand. Sephiroth had told him Hojo was the problem and the man was gone.

            "If he gets a chance to examine your blood, you'll be in danger. Remember, he's the scientist in charge of Genesis. He'll recognize Jenova cells for what they are. We'll talk more later. I've made several efforts to either tamper with or retrieve the vial, I can't find it however. I'm going to watch Hollander instead. I did want to be here when you woke up." Sephiroth said, moving away from the wall.

            Cloud gave a small nod and Sephiroth turned and left the room.

            The blonde sighed, looking around for a moment before he saw one of the nurses walk through the door.

            "You're up, good." The woman glanced at the others before turning back to Cloud. "Your vitals have been good for the last hour, so you are free to go."

            Cloud glanced over at Angeal and Sephiroth for a moment as the nurse removed most of the monitoring equipment. If he stayed here any longer, he was sure to have another panic attack.

* * *

 

            If someone had half a mind to get involved in Genesis's personal business, they might have been able to point out to him that stalking another person was creepy. Especially so because your focus was on fighting him. Fortunately or just the opposite there of, the closest anyone ever got to Genesis's personal business was Hollander during the General's physical exams.

            Furthermore, they might have alerted him to the fact that standing outside the labs, which Genesis hated with a passion, waiting for the blond to emerge so he could drag him off to fight somewhere after his first enhancements just wasn't healthy.

            That however was exactly what he was doing. If Cloud Strife couldn't survive a fight with him now, he had no hope of ever equaling Genesis and the man would simply forget about him and move on.

            As the head of blonde hair walked out from the automated doors, Genesis stepped away from the walls.

            "Cloud Strife" Genesis snapped coldly.

            "General Sir." Cloud turned and stood at attention.

            Internally Genesis was pleased, most of the regular forces cowered when he called their name.

            "Follow me." Genesis ordered and Cloud did as he was told. He pondered the reason why Genesis had come to him. It was curious surely, but also fortunate.

            The man led him to a training room. Once inside, Cloud was shocked to find Ragnarok sitting in a sword stand.

            "I had it retrieved from your room." Was all Genesis said.

            "Sir?" Cloud looked up at Genesis, confused.

            "You've shown a lot of potential since you arrived at Shinra's doorsteps. I want to see that potential for myself." Genesis said smoothly, easily covering any anticipation he felt.

            Cloud took in a deep breath. This was a good thing. He had wanted to get Genesis's attention and it appeared he had it. Now he just had to keep it. Calm from the years of training under Sephiroth, Cloud walked over and picked up his sword.

            When he turned to face Genesis again, the man only gave him a moment's notice before diving into the fight. That was fine with Cloud. Talking wasn't really his thing, fighting was.

            Ragnarok meet Rapier and Genesis grinned.

            Cloud for his part was trying to analyze flaws in his opponent. Calculating the battle, his first true test against another human. Sure, he had sparred with Sephiroth before and he had worked with his roommates, but most of his experience came from fighting monsters.

            This was wholly different. Genesis, unlike Sephiroth, wasn't fighting him to teach. He was fighting him to win. That sparked something deep within Cloud that he had only felt briefly before.

            Steel met steel over and over again as the two danced around the room. Both holding back, both still judging their opponent.

            Cloud saw the expression of enjoyment on Genesis's face and couldn't help but return it. Taking it as a sign, the Great General continued hard, pushing Cloud to fight back and he did with a practiced strength. Genesis never dreamed this boy could come so close to matching him so soon. He had just taken his first mako injections this morning. His heart sang with the idea of what it would be like to fight him when he reached his peek.

            "Come now Cloud Strife, this can't be all you have to offer, show me your strength." Genesis said between sword blows. Taunting always seemed to bring the best out of his foes.

            But Cloud just grinned at him, if Genesis wanted his best, he would have it. The added mako to his system didn't affect him like many of the other new SOLDIERs. Mako had been in his blood all his life. Sephiroth had always warned him about showing off, but now here in this fight it didn’t seem like that at all. He was proving himself, earning Genesis's respect.

            With a burst of speed and a deep rooted strength he lifted Ragnarok over his head. For most, this would have been an opening and indeed Genesis moved to make use of it, before he could strike however, the force of Ragnarok hitting Rapier drove him to his knees.

            Genesis looked up and locked eyes with Cloud, they were not far apart as Cloud strength kept him grounded. No one had ever been able to do that to him before, he did notice the blond was panting with the effort, but he realized that he too was straining to stay up right.

            In that moment he realized that he had found his equal. The problem was neither one of them was willing to admit defeat. Their battle had turned from a contest of Strength to a contest of Wills.

            It was broken when both of them startled at the floor cracking beneath their feet. Cloud placed Ragnarok on his back as Genesis stood and sheathed Rapier.

            "Tell me where you learned to fight like that." Genesis commanded. It was a mystery he had yet to solve and the General didn't like not knowing something. There were absolutely no records.

            "My guardian taught me." Was all Cloud would offer.

            "Hmm, and who was your guardian?" Genesis said, taking a step closer to him.

            Cloud wracked his brain, he knew that, if he said "Sephiroth", it would sound suspicious. That was also his roommate's name and not a common one. So he picked the name from a book he had like.

            "Eristol." Rattled off his tongue.

            Genesis's eyes narrowed a bit. "The wander of peace? Bringer of light? Come now, Cloud, why have you lied to me?"

            Cloud hadn't counted on the General being a fan of fantasy literature. He had to think up something fast. He wasn't well versed in relationship of any kind, but he was sure that lying was bad.

            "That was just the name he gave to me when we met. Whatever his real name may have been, I never knew." Cloud said, keeping himself calm.

            "I suppose people do tend to give themselves a new name if there is something they wish to forget." Genesis said, seeming to take Cloud's word at face value. The truth was that he wasn't any better versed in the social department. Worst of all, it really told Genesis nothing.

            They stayed silent a while longer. Genesis wasn't used to being in someone else's presence when that person was so quiet. Normally, people would prattle on endlessly about things he could care less about. The blond seemed content just to stand there and leave the talking to Genesis. This was a pleasant quality of Cloud Strife, but it left him wondering where to go next.

            Offering to train the boy was pointless, possibly insulting, and he didn't have the time, patience or desire to take on a student either way. He didn't want Cloud to walk out that door as a simple SOLDIER either. As he thought, he glanced back over to the blond, who was still standing there straight as ever. He wanted an equal, not a subordinate, someone who could push him to be better than he already was. Someone that wasn't afraid to tell him the truth. A person he could respect.

            Genesis had seen the men below him interact this way and it seemed to improve their performance. Cloud could be that person, he could see it his eyes, his stance. How did they get that way?

            "Strife, what are your plans for SOLDIER? Why are you here?" Genesis finally asked. Maybe, if he knew what the boy wanted, it would make things easier for him to progress.

            Cloud however stayed silent, thoughtful. How did he answer that question? The truth perhaps, he had told one lie already.

            "It's all I've ever known, striving to become SOLDIER." Cloud started, as for the second part, only the partial truth was needed. "And I intend to be the best." Genesis didn't need to know that Cloud had wanted to meet him.

            Genesis just looked at him. Cloud's story struck a chord deep down within him. "Bold words," Genesis finally said, shaking his head. "Especially spoken to me, but I suppose you are the closest to achieving that goal in a long time. Would it be wrong of me to wish you luck with your goal?"

            "Thank you, sir." Cloud replied, still unmoving.

            Genesis really didn't know what else to do, other than order Cloud to act differently. He was rather certain that wasn't a good way to proceed. Genesis knew he couldn't keep Cloud here forever. On top of that, he had a meeting with the directors in an hour about his next deployment to Wutai.

            That was it, his next deployment to Wutai. He would request Cloud for the mission. He'd never tried to request personal before, one face was the same as another. Surely however, they wouldn't object, he was the General after all.

            "You and I are not done, Cloud Strife. For now however, you are dismissed." Genesis finally announced before exiting the room, intent on implementing his new plan.

            As Cloud stood in the gym, wondering if the interaction had gone well or not, his PHS rang.

 _'Sephiroth Nojima'_ Flashed across the caller ID and Cloud momentary wondered how Sephiroth's number had gotten in his phone.

            With a sigh however he answered it."Hello."

 _"You alright, man? Me and Ange got back to the apartment and you weren't here. The nurse said you'd left an hour earlier."_ Sephiroth questioned.

            "I didn't go back to the apartment, I'm in the training gym." Cloud replied.

 _"You're WHERE?"_ Sephiroth practically shouted.

            "The training gym." Cloud stated again, confused at Sephiroth's reaction

            He heard a muffled. _"I told you he was fucking insane."_ before Sephiroth came back to him. _"How are you even still standing? You know what? I don't even want to know."_

            Cloud decided that now was not the time to tell him he'd been sparring with the General. "I was going to head back soon anyway, I am a bit tired."

            " _A bit tired, alright Cloud... just wow. See you when you get back."_ Sephiroth said, then hung up as Cloud stared at his phone.

* * *

 

            "It is highly irregular to send a green recruit straight into battle." Garamonde said, looking down at Genesis's request.

            "I assure you, he's anything but a green recruit." Genesis said, crossing his arms.

            "I saw his entrance exam with you." Garamonde pointed out.

            "Then you know he should be fully capable of accompanying my unit." Genesis stated.

            Garamonde just looked at the General, trying to evaluate why he was requesting this. Genesis never requested anything, outside of having someone _removed_ from his unit. For the man to take an interest in someone else was a bit surprising. It could however be a good thing. It showed that his SOLDIER was actually human. The director however pondered just how far Genesis was willing to go to get what he wanted.

            "I'll agree on one condition. You take the other two as well. I was thinking of sending them all anyway. In your unit, they should at least survive." Garamonde said with a small smile.

            Genesis inwardly twitched. He wanted more of a chance to see Cloud in actual combat, not playing baby sitter. If he refused, Garamonde would just send the other two in his unit anyway and assign Cloud somewhere else, he knew. "Fine."

            "I knew we could work something out. A pleasure doing business with you, General." The director said with a bit of a nod and Genesis left the man's office, pondering ways to make the man suffer.

* * *

 

            Sephiroth groaned from his spot on his friend's bed. Angeal was stretched out next to him.

            "I think getting hit by a tanker truck would be less painful. How did Cloud manage to head to the training room for an _hour_?" Sephiroth stressed.

            "I don't know." Angeal said, attempting to rub his aching muscles. It only made his arms worse from the movement however. "He did have a bit of mako in his system already. Maybe that made a difference."

            "I don't think the man feels pain." Sephiroth stated, not willing to move.

            "I thought that was the General." Angeal said with a bit of a laugh, then instantly regretted the movement.

            "Yah well, Cloud's very General like. I might even be willing to give up my one true love for him." Sephiroth said with a bit of smirk.

            "One true fantasy is more like it." Angeal said, though resisted the urge to shake his head.

            "It could happen." Sephiroth insisted as his PHS buzzed in sync with Angeal's

            "You check it, it's probably some stupid news letter." Sephiroth insisted.

            "It can wait." Angeal said, normally he was the responsible one, however, moving right now wasn't worth it.

            "Now I know you feel like shit." Sephiroth replied.

            They heard the door open and Cloud call "Hello?"

            "In here." Sephiroth said, sounding a bit whiney.

            Cloud knocked a moment on the door. Angeal said "Come in."

            He slowly cracked the door open and looked down at the pair on the bed. "What happened to you two?"

            "He's not serious, is he, Angeal?" Please tell me he's not serious." Sephiroth groaned. Cloud just looked confused.

            "You do realize it’s normal to be laid up for the rest of the day after mako injections? It’s why they gave us the whole day off." Angeal said, trying to explain.

            "No, I didn't." Cloud said, sounding a bit surprised. If that was the case, why had Genesis expected him to be fine? He had thought the man had been waiting for him. It couldn't have been spontaneous. His sword had been in the training room.

            Cloud's phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, looking at the message. "Seems I'm going to have to pass on Friday."

            "Why?" Sephiroth tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

            "I've just been deployed to Wutai. We're leaving at 0600 Saturday." Cloud replied.

            "Really? You've not even been here a week! Who's your unit leader?" Sephiroth started to sit up, regretted it, then fell back down.

            Cloud looked down further in the message where the details were. "General Genesis"

            "No fucking way." Sephiroth said and Angeal looked startled, too. Cloud however was only vaguely surprised after the day's events. "I'd give anything to trade places with you, Cloud."

            "Check your phone. If the message is right, you won't need to trade anything." Cloud replied calmly.

            Sephiroth's muscles protested as he gritted his teeth, quickly moving to retrieve his phone. He'd pay for it later, but right now he had to see. As he flipped his phone open and read, his eyes went wide. "Yes!" He wanted to jump for joy, but he had to settle for falling back down on Angeal's bed. His friend had checked his phone too, verifying the deployment.

            "Why would they send us to Wutai now? I mean, I could almost understand Cloud, but us? And under the General? I thought he only dealt with the elite forces." Angeal questioned.

            "Don't you dare ruin this moment with reason, Angeal." Sephiroth said, closing his eyes, a grin on his face.

            "Your friend is right. This could be a prank. We should check with the director." Cloud pointed out. Angeal was a little disappointed that Cloud had referred to him as Sephiroth's friend.

            "Not you too. Just let me enjoy it a little while longer before my dreams are dashed, ok?" Sephiroth pleaded.

            "I'll head up to Garamonde's office. I want to take a nap first." Cloud said, he truly did need a bit of a rest after the spar with Genesis.

            "Go on, wonder boy." Sephiroth teased a bit before closing his eyes. Sleep sounded good.

* * *

 

            It was 4 hours later when Cloud finally awoke to his door opening. He was up in a moment, ready to attack, before he realized that it was his Sephiroth.

            "I'm sorry, Cloud." Sephiroth said as his shoulders fell. "I don't know where Hollander's hidden it, but I couldn't find the blood sample he took. At this point, we're going to have to assume he's going to find out the truth. At the very least, he'll know you have Jenova cells within you."

            "What does that mean?" Cloud asked hesitantly. He was already surprisingly close to his goal with Genesis. He didn't want to abandon Shinra now and, with the way his Guardian had explained things, he didn't know if leaving would help anyway.

            "For now, we'll have to watch your back now. I want to stay with you. I promise I won't interfere unless it seems you're in danger from Hollander." Sephiroth said, he knew how much his independence meant to his student.

            Cloud looked thoughtful for a moment, before replying. "I can handle that, I suppose. I've got a lot to talk to you about, however."

            "Are you having problems with your enhancements?" Sephiroth asked.

            "No, apparently I'm doing a lot better than I should be." Cloud stated, shaking his head.

            "What do you mean?" Sephiroth questioned.

            "I really didn't suffer any fatigue or anything after I woke up in the recovery room. The nurse let me go and I was accosted by Genesis in the hall. He directed me to a training room. Genesis had requested someone to retrieve my sword and we ended up sparing. Only after that did I feel tired at all." Cloud explained.

            Sephiroth let the information sink in a moment before replying. "It's interesting. Though I didn't know fatigue was normal. I never suffered it myself. That fact that you've caught Genesis's attention is a good sign, I suppose. How did you fair in the spar?"

            "It came to a draw." Cloud stated evenly.

            He knew he would hear that Cloud had done well, but the actual words made him swell with pride. "Good job."

            "Thank you, but that's not all." Cloud said with a small smile at his angel's praise.

            "What else transpired?" Sephiroth crossed his arms.

            "I've been deployed to Wutai along with the others. We've been assigned to Genesis's unit. At least I think we have, there is the possibility it’s a prank. I was actually meaning to head to the Director's office and see if it was a legitimate order." Cloud explained.

            "Find out, if they are official orders, this could be advantageous. Hollander can't touch you in Wutai, especially with Genesis around. It would give us more time to prepare for him." Sephiroth said thoughtfully.

            Cloud just nodded, before standing and placing his boots and belt back on, which he had removed to sleep.

            "Do you want to come with me?" Cloud asked.

            "No, you should be safe enough while still in the SOLDIER area. I am however going to do a bit more digging. There's something I read in the company files the other day that disturbs me." Sephiroth said. looking at this charge.

            "What's that?" Cloud questioned.

            "The name of the head of the Department of Administrative Research." Sephiroth said. looking pensive.

            Cloud just looked confused.

            "It was listed as a man by the name of Vincent Valentine. Events happened in the original timeline that led to people thinking he was dead for nearly 30 years. I didn't know it when I was still alive, but I discovered in the lifestream that he was my actual father. He tried to stop the experiments that were preformed on me, but fell into Hojo's hands because of it." Sephiroth crossed his arms.

            Cloud looked almost shocked. "Your father? But then-" He cut himself off as he glanced towards where the young Sephiroth was sleeping.

            "I don't know." Sephiroth said, judging Cloud's question. His younger self had obviously been adopted from what he knew.

            "I'll go speak to the director " Cloud said almost quietly. He wasn't sure where else to take the conversation.

            "Go on, I'll be fine. I just want to see if I can find his adoption records." Sephiroth stated. In the long run, it didn't matter. This world's version of him seemed happy and well adjusted. A life he could only ever of dreamed for. It was ironic that he idolized Genesis. This younger Sephiroth really had no idea what being the General of Shinra truly entailed. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

            Silently, Cloud slipped out of the room as his roommates slept soundly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to start posting this to FF.net. However updates will still appear here first for the time being.


	5. Moonlight Sonata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit of a different feel to it then the others. It bugged me a bit, but in the end I decided it wasn't a bad thing. I hope you do too!

    

As Cloud quickly found out, the Wutai assignment was real. Garamonde actually laughed at him when he walked into the man's office and asked. Cloud had taken the man's reaction the wrong way, until the man had told him they didn't mess around with mission assignments.

            "The general seems to like you." Was all Garamonde would say before Cloud was ushered out of the Director's office.

            That had led him to standing in front of Angeal and Sephiroth who seemed to have recovered enough to at least get out of bed.

            "Soooo...?" Sephiroth drug out.

            "It's a legitimate order." Cloud stated before heading to his room.

            "WHOOHOO! We have to go celebrate!" Sephiroth yelled.

            "Sephiroth." Angeal groaned.

            "What, he promised to go out! If we can't go out Friday, we should go out tonight! I mean, obviously we can't go out as late, but we can at least get dinner, maybe hit up a bar, something!" Sephiroth stressed.

            "I thought you two were supposed to rest today. If you've got energy, we could go to the training room. I don't want you two getting yourselves killed in Wutai." Cloud replied, completely serious.

            "As much as I hate even partially agreeing with Sephiroth. There is a bit of a difference in sitting at a dinner table or a bar stool and swinging a sword around in the training gym." Angeal interjected hesitantly.

            "I can feel the love." Sephiroth sighed as he crossed his arms.

            "I guess dinner would be nice at least." Cloud replied, before glancing at his room. His Sephiroth would likely be busy for a while more yet.

            "That's the spirit!" Sephiroth said, slapping a hand down on Cloud's shoulder. The blonde flinched, obviously keeping some reaction in check.

            Angeal sighed, realizing this was going to be a long night.

* * *

 

            Cloud was confused as ever. Sephiroth was currently dragging him down the street. He hadn't had much chance to explore the city, but Midgar was wholly different then Kalm had been. Cloud couldn't see the stars in the night sky and it unsettled him a bit. The stars were what he always used to navigate when he was lost.

            Even that would not have been so bad, if he could have figured out what was wrong with his clothing. He didn't understand why wearing his uniform to dinner was a bad thing, but Sephiroth had practically stripped him and forced Cloud into some of Angeal's cloths.

            The pants were tight and restricted movement, the shirt was hardly decent protection. It was thin, light, and barely covered his midsection. At least the clothes were black, so he wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb at night.

            Angeal for all his protests was dressed similarly to Cloud (not a surprise since he was wearing the man's clothing) and seemed to be enjoying himself. Sephiroth however wore only a pair of black pants and a grey suit coat, unbuttoned. Though actually considering what his mentor wore, it wasn't that surprising. Maybe the hatred of shirts was genetic.

            "You never did tell me where we were going." Cloud finally broke the silence, pulling his hand out of Sephiroth's grasp.

            "If I told you, would you have known what I meant?" Sephiroth said with a smirk. It seemed that, on the streets, the teen was much more confident.

            "It's at least polite, and, besides, I would know what you meant." Angeal interjected.

            "Fine, we're going to the Valance Club." Sephiroth said, not looking at Angeal.

            "They won't even let us in there and you know it! Besides, I thought we were going to dinner." Angeal replied a bit agitated.

            "Of course they will, we're SOLDIER's now. That place is always crawling with them. And they have really good food." Sephiroth said shortly.

            "Should I be worried?" Cloud asked, this whole night had him on edge.

            "No, because we're not going to the club." Angeal said, shaking his head.

            "Come on, you know you've always wanted to get in. It would just be the perfect end to a perfect week. Or at least half a week." Sephiroth was almost pleading.

            Angeal just sighed, some day he'd learn to say no to Sephiroth. "Only because I know they'll turn us around at the door."

            "You are the best best friend ever!" Sephiroth hugged Angeal, before grabbing Cloud's hand again. Tonight was going to be epic.

            Needless to say Cloud was still confused as they arrived in front of a large warehouse. There was a line down the block and Sephiroth went to stand in it with his two companions.

            "So now what?" Cloud finally asked.

            "We wait, it shouldn't take too long, most of these people will just get turned away." Sephiroth said with a bit of a smirk.

            "Oh, you mean people like us?" Angeal said, rolling his eyes. It was worth waiting an hour so that, when Sephiroth enviably started sulking, it at least wouldn't be his fault.

            They were in line about a half an hour and most of the conversation had been between Angeal and Sephiroth, as Cloud contemplated how this could be considered fun, when a man none of them knew stopped and did a double take. His eyes at least told them he was with SOLDIER.

            "Wait, aren't you that kid that wasted Fairfax?" The SOLDIER asked.

            Cloud wasn't sure what to say, he hadn't 'wasted' anyone. Sephiroth however answered for him. "Yep, he's is. Kinda quiet though. His name's Cloud, I'm Sephiroth and this is Angeal."

            "Hmm, you're the other two that made it through the program then?" The SOLDIER asked.

            "That would be us." Sephiroth said with a smile as Angeal sighed, he knew what was happening.

            "Then what the hell ya doing standing in line. Get your asses over here, you’re coming in with us." The man said, gesturing to his group of friends waiting for him at the door.

            "Awesome." Sephiroth replied, flashing his teeth again as he drug Cloud out of line. Angeal just groaned and followed. He had only agreed because he _knew_ they wouldn't get in. There was no way he was getting Sephiroth out of here at a reasonable hour...

            All hope of getting away was shattered as the bouncer wordlessly let the three of them in with the group. Once they were inside, they lost sight of the people who had gotten them in. At least they didn't have to try and hang out with people they didn't know.

            The music was loud and it pulsed in their veins. And Angeal found himself relaxing just a bit.

            "Come on, we'll grab something to eat, then find a place to relax." Sephiroth and the look in his eyes showed he was in pure heaven.

            Cloud still couldn't understand any of it, but they had come here for food and he had promised to at least try. He nodded silently and let Sephiroth lead him through the crowd to an odd style buffet. He didn't recognize anything on the table and ended up following Angeal and Sephiroth's lead. Sephiroth handed some gil over to the attendant, offering to pay since it was Cloud's first night out.

            They then found their way to set of overstuffed couches, on the far side of the club, all the dancers were on the opposite end, where there was a stage with live music.

            "So what do you think so far?" Sephiroth asked Cloud, happy for once to be teaching something new to the blonde.

            "It’s… different." Was all Cloud could say as he eyed his food. He picked up one of the smaller pieces of food and stuck it into his mouth. He almost spit it back out, before he realized that it wasn't bad, just different. There was a thick crusty outer shell, some kind of vegetable he thought, then something soft, white and sweet in the middle. The whole thing had a bit of a spicy flavor.

            "What is this?" He asked, holding up the part of the item he hadn't eaten. Angeal and Sephiroth both had a few on their plates.

            "Oh that's just a jalapeno popper." Angeal said, glancing at Cloud before continuing to eat his own food.

            Cloud inspected it a bit more before he decided he liked it and ate the rest.

            Before long they were done eating, and Cloud realized his hands were covered in grease. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but almost all the food had been coated in it. It wasn't exactly a healthy diet, but as a SOLDIER he could at least use the extra calories.

            "What do we do now?" He asked, looking around for a bathroom, something to clean his hands.

            "Now we dance." Sephiroth said before standing and stretching. Angeal absently handed him some kind of wet paper cloth. He wasn't sure where the man had gotten it, but he was thankful for it anyway.

            "What's dancing?" Cloud asked confused.

            "Seriously, who raised you? Wolves?" Sephiroth replied a bit startled.

            "Sephiroth, be nice." Angeal glared at his friend. Then he turned his attention back to Cloud, "That's dancing," He pointed to the dance floor across the warehouse.

            Cloud glanced over and shook his head, those people were expending so much energy needlessly, their heart rate was likely accelerated and they were sweating. How that was fun, he didn't know.

            It seemed however he was going to find out as Sephiroth grabbed his wrist yet again and drug him over to the dance floor. "Just follow my lead for once." Sephiroth said with a smirk and started to move his body in time with the beat, Angeal was close by as well and he could tell both men had synced up with the music.

            It could never be said that Cloud Strife wasn't good at following instructions. He listened to the beat a bit longer, analyzed it, before attempting to move with Sephiroth and Angeal. Cloud thought it was rather foolish, but Sephiroth and Angeal seemed to be truly enjoying themselves, so he just resigned the fact that he must not have been doing it right.

            If you asked Sephiroth however, the blonde was dancing perfectly. Having him move so fluidly directly in front of him only made his desire for Cloud grow. The soft light emitting from his eyes, the look of concentration on his face, it was sexy as hell.

            Finally, after the first two songs, Cloud started to relax a bit. It oddly seemed a bit like sword fighting. Watching Sephiroth, gauging his movements, watching the others around him. The beat of the music took the place of a thundering heart, though his pulse was starting to rise.

            Cloud's eyes were burning into Sephiroth and it was driving him mad as he moved closer to the blonde. It was like he was trying to figure out everything about him through the dance. If it had been anyone else, Sephiroth would probably have run for the door, but Cloud. Well, Cloud was different, he knew the blonde was a different person altogether than anyone he'd ever met before. Sephiroth didn't find Cloud creepy, he found him arousing. Did the fighter even know the aura he was radiating? Sephiroth doubted it and it was the only reason he wasn't currently grinding against the blonde or trying to claim his lips. The only thing he was sure of, is that he would get Cloud into his bed, even if it was the last thing he did.

            Angeal, who had started to distance himself from the pair, still couldn't tear his eyes away. They may not have realized it, but they were starting to draw attention from those around them. Cloud was moving in perfect sync with the music and with Sephiroth. Angeal didn't have a sex drive near as vigorous as his friend, but he was still male teenager. This was his best friend and their roommate he was watching, and it made him feel a bit dirty.

            He never viewed Sephiroth in a sexual manner, it just wasn't possible for him. Angeal had known him since he was in diapers, had seen the man at his worst and his best. He knew all about his silver haired friends dating habits and wanted nothing to do with it. Cloud on the other hand was another story. If he was honest with himself, he could see why Sephiroth was so attracted to the blond. It didn't matter though, with someone like Sephiroth around, people tended not to notice Angeal. It was probably better that way, he thought as he tried to divert his eyes from the pair.

            Cloud had noticed the stares, though he wasn't letting on. He knew he probably looked like an idiot, Angeal was distancing himself from him and Sephiroth seemed to be the only one who didn't care he was acting like a fool. He inwardly sighed, he would put up with this for awhile longer, but really they needed to rest. It wasn't 8 hours ago that Sephiroth and Angeal were complaining about their mako injections.

            As the sixth song came on, Cloud had reached his limit. There was no way someone could tell him that he hadn't tried dancing. He still saw no point in it and doubted he ever would. Cloud knew people were staring and swiftly left the warehouse, leaving Sephiroth looking hurt, wondering what he'd done wrong.

            Angeal came to stand beside his friend, who had made his way off the dance floor. "I thought he was enjoying himself, he certainly looked like it." Sephiroth lamented.

            "I thought he was too, honestly." Angeal replied, he'd seen Sephiroth get rejected before, but the pained look on his friends face spoke volumes. Sephiroth had fallen harder for the blond then the man probably realized.

            "We should go away, it's getting late." Sephiroth sighed and Angeal knew something was wrong. It was only 11 after all. Sephiroth usually refused to acknowledge it was late until well past 2 am.

            "Alright, we should find him anyway, he doesn't exactly know his way around the city." Angeal said, placing a hand on his friends shoulder. Sephiroth just nodded, before making his way to the door.

* * *

 

            Cloud silently cursed as he looked to the sky. He had never felt so stupid in his life. His Sephiroth would certainly be tearing him apart right now if he knew. The number one rule of entering unfamiliar territory was to make sure you remembered the path back out. A city was no different than a forest and, for the second time that night, Cloud was angry at the lack of a proper night sky.

            Finally he stopped a few blocks away from the warehouse, it would do him no good to wander around aimlessly. Cloud assessed the situation and decided asking someone for directions would be his best option. There were not a lot of people out, but surely someone could direct him back to Shinra.

            Except any time he made his way near someone, they seemed to avoid him. After about 15 minutes of the same thing, he sighed, his only option would be to return to the warehouse and find his roommates. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, he didn't like showing weaknesses or admitting failure.

            He stood weighing his options when he heard footsteps behind him, it seemed someone was actually willing to approach him after all. A bit of relief washed over him as he turned.

            Cloud couldn't make out the features on the person approaching him very well. It seemed they naturally stuck to the shadows, on top of wearing all black, the figure had a scarf wrapped around his face and a hood up over his head. The weather hadn't turned too chilly yet, in fact tonight it was rather warm. The whole thing put Cloud a bit on edge.

            Cloud stood his ground, watching the person approach him and was startled when he stopped just before the light and pulled their scarf down slightly.

            "You look a bit lost, Cloud Strife." It was Genesis who had spoken to him.

            Cloud wasn't sure how to respond, he had earned Genesis's respect earlier, he was sure. If he admitted to getting lost in the city, he would likely lose it. However, it still seemed like a better option then returning to Sephiroth and Angeal, who he knew he had embarrassed himself in front of. Hopefully, in Wutai he would be able to capture Genesis's attention again.

            "I was out with Nojima and Hewley and we were separated." Cloud finally settled on as an explanation.

            "Hmm, well then, I was on my way back to headquarters, we can see if they have returned there." Genesis replied and Cloud looked up at him. It seemed he had given him a chance to keep his dignity.

            Cloud just nodded "That sounds like a good solution, Sir."

            Genesis just raised an eyebrow at him before pulling his scarf back up over his face. He was rather surprised to run into the blond on his way home. He had gone to a theatre performance, a little ritual he had indulged in the last several times he had been deployed. Genesis didn't go out in public often, but when he did, it was always at night and he was always disguised. When his eyes were the only thing the common man could see, they generally avoided him before they could scrutinize his appearance further. The general populace praised Shinra and their comforts, took for granted the protection SOLDIERs offered, but at the same time were just as scared of them as any enemy of Shinra.

            Genesis smiled a bit to himself under the scarf despite all this. Cloud was quiet, but as they walked down the street, they became more comfortable with each other. The awkwardness brought on by the lack of words after their spar was gone. He didn't know why he had felt the need to talk so strongly before. Neither he nor the blond were the chatty type.

            All too quickly Genesis found their walk back over. He was about to pull his scarf down and speak but a loud "Cloud!" rang through the atrium.

            Cloud turned at the sound to see Sephiroth waving at him and Angeal hurrying to keep up. When he glanced back, Genesis was gone.

            "Where'd you go? I mean, you ran off without a word, we thought something was wrong." Sephiroth asked as he came to a stop in front of the blond. All signs of his earlier pseudo-depression were gone.

            "I thought it was getting late." Was all Cloud said and Sephiroth about sighed. Cloud was acting like he had on the first day again. All that work he'd done to get the teen to open up seemed gone and Sephiroth felt like bashing his head against something hard.

            "Well, we were kind of worried. We knew you didn't know your way around well. How'd you find your way back anyway?" Sephiroth pushed.

            "It wasn't difficult." Cloud replied, he was still a little tense from the dance floor. He wasn't about to admit that he had needed the General's help to get home. In another moment he had turned on his heels and headed for the elevator. Hopefully in the morning he could put this embarrassment behind him as he threw himself into his training. Cloud promised himself not to indulge in anymore pointless distractions. He was here to be the best and seeing Genesis had reminded him of that fact.

            Sephiroth's face fell for the second time that night as the blond walked away from him.

* * *

 

            As Cloud walked into his room, he found his Sephiroth sitting on his bed. As the door opened the man stood and pulled Cloud into a hug.

            "Where were you?" He asked, his voice had more of a relieved tone than a scolding one.

            "They drug me out somewhere. I followed your advice and tried to befriend them, but I only ended up looking like a fool." Cloud had a bit of bitterness in his voice.

            "I was afraid Hollander had gotten to you already." Sephiroth released his charge and took a step back, taking in his appearance. He was wearing odd civilian clothing and looked truly distressed.

            Cloud just grimace and realized that he probably should have at least left a note for his guardian. He just wasn't used to such things and the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. In the future, he promised to find some way to inform Sephiroth of what was going on.

            "I'm not upset, just relieved, you’re allowed to go out with your friends." Sephiroth tried to calm his charge.

            "They aren't my friends." Cloud replied swiftly. "And besides, I won't be going out again. The whole evening was pointless, a waste of energy and I just ended up looking like a fool."

            "If you asked them, I bet they would have a different opinion. And tell me what happened." Sephiroth requested.

            "They asked me if I wanted to go to dinner and I agreed. Sephiroth insisted I wear these clothes, which I still don't understand. I can't believe Angeal even owns them, they are completely non-functional, I can't even move properly in them. We ended up at some warehouse, which they referred to as a club. We stood in line for awhile before someone drug us inside. It wasn't so bad at first, the food was odd and greasy, but it was sufficient. "

            "Sephiroth suggested we dance, I attempted, but I couldn't figure it out. Nothing seemed to make any sense, there was no reason to their movements but to expend energy. Everyone was staring, I knew I was doing it wrong, so I left and came back here. I did manage to run into the General on my way back however. I meant to talk to him, but before I could, Angeal and Sephiroth caught up to me." Cloud finished his explanation as he took his shirt off and placed it in the laundry. He would return it to Angeal later.

            "Hmm, I never understood dancing much myself. The Genesis in my world tried to take me more than once. However, if you felt you were doing it wrong, perhaps you should ask them to teach you properly. You never know when certain skills can become useful. The Genesis that I knew once ended a fight mimicing some dance move he had learned." Sephiroth explained.

            "I really don't know if I ever want to dance again, but I did think for a moment that it slightly resembled fighting. I'll think it over and maybe talk to them a bit more later. However, I have a feeling they will just laugh." Cloud sighed.

            "Did you laugh at them and their sword skills? Like I said, I believe you could count them as friends. I doubt they laugh." Sephiroth encouraged.

            "Maybe, but it's been a long day. I would like to sleep." Cloud yawned.

            "I'll agree, it has been a long day. Rest well. And remember to be careful." Sephiroth said, before moving to the door.

            "I will, good night." Cloud responded before Sephiroth left his room. He finished changing and went to bed.

* * *

 

            The next morning, Cloud was up earlier than even his Sephiroth, which was fine. Today he really didn't feel like talking to much of anyone. He dressed swiftly and scribbled a quick note, and slid it under the man's door. Ragnarok strapped to his back, he headed down to the training gym.

            He threw himself into his practice, the spar yesterday had been nice, but he hadn't really had a chance to concentrate on how the added mako had affected him. Each thrust was determined, sharp and focused. This he knew how to do, this he understood.

            Cloud hadn't even realized how much time had passed until his PHS buzzed in his pocket. As he stopped and pulled it out, he realized he'd been in here for 3 hours. It was just now 8 am. He cursed, realizing he was going to be late, then read the message. It seemed his day's schedule had been changed. They were to meet with the rest of their unit in order to make preparations to head to Wutai.

            He knew Sephiroth had encouraged him to ask for these dance lessons. But really, why should he bother with such foolish things when he was being sent to war? He had a general to impress and he doubted very much that Genesis would care if he could dance.

* * *

 

            "Where do you think he is?" Sephiroth asked _again._ Cloud hadn't been in their dorm that morning and he had been in the mess hall either. Now, as they stood in the room they'd been assigned to, Cloud wasn't here either. Of course they were technically here early. Sephiroth had wanted to impress the general, maybe catch a word with him before everyone else arrived.

            For someone who was supposedly so obsessed with the General, Sephiroth thought about Cloud _a lot_.

            A few others had started to trickle in and mostly ignored Sephiroth and Angeal. Every once in a while they would get a few looks and it was obvious the other men were just a surprised that they were here as Angeal and Sephiroth had been initially.

            Sephiroth sighed, looking at his PHS for the 3rd time in 5 minutes. "He's going to be late."

            "I don't think he _can_ be late. He's the general." Angeal sighed.

            "No, I meant Cloud." Sephiroth hissed, watching the door.

            Before Angeal could respond, the blond finally walked through the door. Angeal though he was going to head their way before he went over to an empty part of the room and leaned against the wall. Angeal didn't even want to look at Sephiroth. He was bothered enough by Cloud's actions on his own without seeing that pained look on his friend's face again.

            "I just wish I knew what happened, what went wrong." Sephiroth sighed and Angeal nodded as Genesis entered the room.

            He had an incredibly commanding aura and everyone immediately straightened up at his presence.

            "As you know, you've all been assigned to my unit, for the next deployment to Wutai. I have two days to make sure that you're fit to go." Genesis snapped. "I demand that all orders are followed with no questions and no deviations. I am here to make decisions and issue orders. You are here to do as I say. If you object, then you might as well pack your bags and head home now. Some of you I've worked with before. But enough of you are new faces. If you have any questions, you best not ask. Listen and learn. I will not repeat myself and I will not waste my time. "

            Genesis's cold eyes swept across the room at the 25 men assembled. All of them were shaking slightly except for Cloud. Good, Genesis thought, a rival should be able to look him in the eye unwavering.

            "Now grab your things and let’s go. It's time to make sure you can make it through hell." With that Genesis turned and left the room. All the men looked at each other for a moment, wondering if they really wanted the assignment, all except Cloud, who was already half-way out the door.


	6. Romance for Dummies

                Sephiroth didn't know what he expected the General to do. Actual training of what were supposedly elite men now sounded ridiculous as he sat in the room listening to the General. He was talking about weapons, tactics and materia and Sephiroth's mind was doing its best to keep up. Then he started asking questions. And Sephiroth's blood ran cold. He closed his eyes for a moment, praying that he wouldn't be asked a question.  His eyes shot back open however when Cloud was addressed.

                "Strife, what would you do, if I gave you an order, but you could see that what I ordered you to do would have disastrous results and possibly get someone in the unit killed?" The General asked smoothly.

                "Follow the order." Cloud replied without hesitation and a few around the room looked surprised.

                Genesis just glanced at them. "Correct, Strife, you may be aware of something I'm not, but it's just as likely that I'm aware of something you aren't. Or I have taken into account what you've seen and adjusted accordingly. It looks like some of the rest of you have something to learn from him. Remember, never question my orders."

                He moved on, snapping off other questions. Almost everyone got asked, except Angeal and Sephiroth.  And, while at the start Sephiroth had hoped not to be called, in the end if felt like it had been an intentional slight. The only thing that kept his spirits up was the knowledge that Cloud would not be able to escape him. He would have to talk to him and Angeal when this was over.

                "You are dismissed, Strife, please stay, I'd like to speak with you for a moment." The General stated and Sephiroth's hopes fell again. But then he realized that Cloud was going to be alone with the General. What really threw him however was the fact he wasn't sure who to be jealous of.

                "Come on." Angeal placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him from his thoughts.

                They headed to the door and Sephiroth threw one last glance over his shoulder before walking out into the hall.

                "We should wait for him." Sephiroth said once they were out the door.

                "Come on Seph, if he really is trying to avoid us, confronting him when he's with the General isn't a good idea." Angeal tried reasoning with his friend.

                "You're probably right." Sephiroth said reluctantly. Angeal was always right.

                With that the pair left for their dorm, not in the mood to train.

* * *

 

                Cloud stood still as the others left the room. He had to admit that he was curious. This was the third time in almost as many days he had been alone with the General.

                "Cloud, I wanted to talk to you a bit about Wutai and your personal assignment." Genesis started with a twist of his lips. He's found just the right way to keep the blond close.

                "My personal assignment, sir?" Cloud honestly looked confused.

                "I want you to be my second in Wutai. I know your new to Shinra, but you proved the other day that you've got more than enough strength and skill to make up for your short service."  Genesis started. "I see plenty of potential in you and I think you'll make a fine officer someday."

                Cloud was nearly stunned. Not that Genesis really needed a second. "Thank you, sir." he replied smoothly though.

                "Don't disappoint me. Not that you have so far." Genesis spoke as he closed the distance between the two.

                There was something else in the general's eyes and it looked like he was fighting some kind of internal battle. Cloud just held his gaze, wondering if he should leave, but Genesis hadn't dismissed him yet.  He watched as Genesis curled his hand into a fist and walked away, leaving Cloud all the more confused as to why he had gotten so close.

                "Meet me in my quarters tomorrow morning and we'll discuss what you need to know then. For now, you are dismissed, Cloud Strife." Genesis's tone changed again, but Cloud just saluted and left the room.  Life at Shinra so far had thrown his world view completely upside down.

                When he was gone, Genesis punched the table next to him, nearly splintering the wood. He was the General of Shinra's army. One simple 3rd Class SOLDIER shouldn't be able to get so far under his skin. Then again, there was nothing simple about Cloud Strife.

* * *

 

                Cloud was still very confused and wanted to talk to his Sephiroth. Between the night before and what had just transpired. He never would have imagined that Genesis would have asked that of him. Cloud knew they had been getting along, but certainly there was someone better to make his second. Someone with more experience.

                At least he was a bit more confident now. While it was unexpected, what Genesis asked of him he could handle. Sephiroth had filled his head with military tactics. This was another way to prove himself useful and, really, this just proved he had been right. Genesis was looking for someone like him. His heart swelled with pride. Cloud would achieve his goal, if he hadn't already.

                A bit more relaxed than before, he made his way back to the dorm. He still had several hours before he needed to rest and he had gotten in a good training session that morning. He thought again about talking to Sephiroth, but really he had wanted to do this on his own. Seeking out aid after every matter was counter intuitive to proving himself. Besides really what was he going to say? That he was confused because his plan was working?

                As he entered the apartment however, he was surprised to find the younger Sephiroth sitting on the couch looking like someone had died, Angeal was standing near him.

                Not sure what to do he looked at them a moment, Sephiroth looked up at him in surprise and Cloud decided it was better just to leave them alone at the moment. He wasn't good with these kinds of things anyway.

                "So are we suddenly not good enough for you?" Sephiroth asked with a bit of hurt in his voice. "Or were we ever really good enough?"

                Cloud froze, he didn't understand a lot, but he knew better then to just keep going. "What are you talking about?"

                Angeal tried to stop his friend but Sephiroth sprung up, his nerves were beyond frayed.

                Sephiroth snapped. "You run out on us at the club, barely talk to us at all when we find you, and avoid us all day. Then don't understand why we might be upset? Especially after you get a private chat with the General?"

                Cloud bristled a bit. "Of course I left you're club. I don't relish making a fool of myself. And I haven't been avoiding you. I got up early to go train and lost track of time. Though maybe I should start."

                Sephiroth's started to yell again, then stopped in a moment of clarity. "You thought you were making a fool of yourself?"

                "Of course, everyone was staring. I had no idea what I was doing." Cloud's own voice calmed, but he crossed his arms, turning in on himself. He didn't feel like reliving his humiliation right now.

                "You really don't have a clue, do you?" Sephiroth was nearly startled.

                "I told you Seph." Angeal said, finally getting a word in.

                "I don't like being left in the dark." Cloud nearly hissed.

                Sephiroth suddenly felt a bit guilty. "Cloud, people weren't staring because you were making a fool of yourself. People were staring because you were the sexist damn thing they'd ever seen. You moved perfectly."

                Cloud was utterly surprised for the second time that day. "I-I don't even know how to dance."

                Sephiroth had always been an impulsive person. Never more so then now. It seemed Cloud really did need to be shown everything. With that in mind, he leaned in quickly and captured the blond's lips with his own.

                Angeal gasped and turned away, even he hadn't expected Sephiroth to be that forward. Especially not after sitting on the couch agonizing over the blond, trying to convince himself it wasn't worth the trouble.

                Cloud froze, it was awkward to say the least to be kissed by someone that looked so much like his guardian. Plus, in the books he'd read, it had always been a man kissing a woman, the idea of romance had never appealed to him. But Sephiroth's lips felt so warm and eager. Much like the night before, he found himself getting swept away and returned the kiss.

                Sephiroth's stomach fluttered as Cloud returned the kiss and he got a bit more adventurous. He raised his hand and ran it through Cloud's locks, happy to find that it was soft and free of hair gel. Knowing that the hair was natural seemed to fit the teen perfectly. Finally, he ended the kiss and pulled away.

                Cloud looked stunned and Sephiroth felt a bit of pride at that. The fact that he was still standing here and not running for his room or punching Sephiroth was a good sign too. Angeal had discreetly retreated to his room.

                "I just can't believe how much you don't know..." Sephiroth was nearly breathless.

                "Then tell me." Was all Cloud could think to say. His Sephiroth has suggested he ask for dancing lessons. Was this any different? He didn't understand social relationships at all and he meant it when he said he hated being in the dark.

                "Gladly." Sephiroth replied before capturing Cloud's lips again. This time Cloud copied Sephiroth's earlier actions and reached up to touch the silver hair. He noted it was much softer and smoother than his guardian. Really, the only similarity was in appearance. This Sephiroth was nothing like the man that had raised him.

                When they split again, Cloud was running things through his head. He realized there was a lot he didn't know. His cheeks flushed at the idea of his guardian walking in right now. Standing here kissing well... _him._ Sephiroth took the flush as a good sign however and cupped Cloud's cheek before kissing him a third time.

                All the worry doubt and fear he'd had earlier in the day washed away. Cloud was here, kissing him, or rather being kissed by him, but he seemed to enjoy it. And Sephiroth was determined not to fuck this up like he had with previous relationships. If he could even say this was a relationship. Cloud didn't seem to understand a lot of things, they would probably have to talk about it all later, but right now he was busy.

                They pulled away again and the blond just stood staring at Sephiroth, "Why did you do that?" he asked finally, curiosity in his voice.

                "Because I like you, Cloud, I like you a lot. And I hope you like me too." Sephiroth was trying to explain. It was almost painful to realize how backward Cloud was in this aspect. It seemed like very thing he had gained physically he had lost socially. So much like the General, Sephiroth thought. He still had his crush, he was sure, but Cloud was a breath of fresh air. Cloud was attainable and, in a way, that made him all the more desirable.

                 Cloud thought for a moment again on what to say. He had never felt so lost. Though the fact that he had apparently not been bad at dancing like he thought helped putting his world back into focus. "I guess I like you too and that was pleasant enough. I think I enjoyed it more than the dancing."

                "Well, we can do it anytime you like." Sephiroth's smile turned into a bit of a smirk. "Just, not with just anyone, ok? Only people you really like, really connect with." He felt the need to tag it on or Cloud just might get the wrong idea. Honestly, Sephiroth didn't want Cloud kissing anyone else, but he figured getting him to understand a real relationship would take time.  Besides, who else was the blond close to?

                "I understand." Cloud replied and he took Sephiroth's words to heart. It made sense, at least from the books he'd read. Though kissing Sephiroth still felt awkward, but explaining why to the teen would be impossible.

                "Now, would you like to go out for a real dinner? No club, I promise, just a nice restaurant?"  Sephiroth asked, he wanted to kid himself into thinking that he was asking Cloud on a date. But he realized that Cloud likely didn't understand that concept either.

                "I suppose, I don't have much else to do, unless you and Angeal would like to get some more time in training." Cloud responded, it would be fine as long as he didn't have to dance again, even if he could apparently.

                "Training can wait for tomorrow. I'll go tell Angeal we're heading out." Sephiroth brushed a strand of Cloud's hair back as he spoke.

                "He's not coming?" Cloud asked surprised.

                "Just this once, probably not. Why do you want him to come?" Sephiroth wanted Cloud for his own, but that wouldn't really happen until he understood. That much had become completely clear.

                "I just figured he was your friend. You seem to do everything with him." Cloud's confusion wasn't getting any better.

                "Not everything." Sephiroth replied, leaning in and stealing another kiss, something that would be hard not to do from now on.

                "Alright." Cloud relented as Sephiroth stepped away again.

                Sephiroth smiled at him as he slipped back to Angeal's room. A quick knock on the door and he swung it open to find Angeal stretched out on his bed, reading a tactical manual.

                "So I'm guessing you got what you wanted?" Angeal asked, there was a bit of playfulness to his voice to let Sephiroth know that he wasn't really upset.

                "Well, kind of." Sephiroth replied with a smile.

                "Kind of?" Angeal sat up as he spoke.

                "He really is completely clueless. I'm beginning to think that, when I asked if he was raised by wolves, I was right. It seems that, outside fighting, he's just lost." Sephiroth sat down on the bed as he answered his friend.

                "You need to be careful Seph, if he really doesn't have a clue, you might end up hurting him, being hurt or both." Angeal was always the cautious one.

                "I know, I know. I'm trying to explain things as best I can. I'm going to take him out to dinner, maybe I can help clear a few more things up." Sephiroth's smile took on a more serious look. "He really is special, Ange. I'm not going to screw this up, I swear. You know me, I'm not usually up for hard work."

                "Which is why I'm worried." Angeal sighed, but he figured he could have his own conversation with Cloud later.

                "Don't be. Anyway, I'll see you later." Sephiroth gave a mock salute and headed out the door.

                Angeal was left to his thoughts. He had a very bad feeling about all this. Though really Cloud had been the only thing to get Sephiroth's mind off his precious general. The fact that teen hadn't even asked Cloud about his visit with Genesis was remarkable in and of itself. Maybe, just maybe, they could get what they needed from each other.

                Of course, then where did that leave him?

* * *

 

                The night had the tiniest bit of a chill to it as Cloud and Sephiroth made their way through sector 5.  "So where are we going now?" Cloud asked, breaking the silence.

                "There's a restaurant around here my family frequents. I thought it might be a nice change from the club. I really am sorry for making you so uncomfortable. You really did look wonderful." Sephiroth had a soft smile on his face as he spoke.

                "Did you grow up around here?" Cloud looked around, taking in the cityscape and couldn't imagine it. The home he'd shared with Sephiroth outside Kalm had been vastly different.

                "Yep, I'm a sector 5 kid. Lived in the Shinra employee apartments. My dad's some paper pusher in weapons development. He'd kick me in the ass if he heard me say that, though. He's not a bad old man, just always working." Sephiroth answered, sharing with Cloud felt good. Cloud didn't seem like the type of person to ask something if he didn't really want to know. "You don't talk much about your parents."

                Cloud stayed silent for a moment and Sephiroth thought he had touched a sore subject, only to realize he likely had when the blonde started talking. "I never knew my parents. They died before I was born. Well, I suppose my mother died when I was born. I was an orphan for a few years, until my guardian took me in. I've lived in the wilderness outside Kalm with him since then."

                That explained a lot or so Sephiroth thought. And truthfully, he knew he'd been adopted. But his parents were his parents. They always had been and always would be, even if they didn't always understand each other.

                "I'm sorry for bringing it up."Sephiroth replied honestly.

                "No problem, I can't miss someone I've never met. And my guardian has taken really good care of me. Even if I am a bit lost socially. I don't think he's much better, honestly." Cloud added.

                "Well, like I said, I'll tell you anything you want to know. But I think we're here." Sephiroth stopped and gestured to a door.

                Cloud honestly hadn't known what to expect, but this place was much smaller and quieter than the club had been. It made him relax just a bit more. Sephiroth spoke to a woman at the door and in short order they were sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant. Cloud had already mental logged all the exits before he'd even sat down.

                "Here are your menus. Do you know what you would like to drink?" The woman asked.

                "Water will be good for both of us for now." Sephiroth answered quickly. Not sure if he had even seen Cloud drinking anything else.

                Cloud just nodded and didn't look upset, so Sephiroth decided he hadn't made a mistake.

                Cloud looked at the menu and was happy to note that he at least recognized the food, unlike last night.

                "Do you need help?" Sephiroth at least offered, it wouldn't have surprised him.

                "No." Cloud shook his head. "A good steak sounds good."

                Sephiroth had been a bit nervous, but, watching Cloud, he was glad to note he at least seemed much calmer and relaxed. It gave him hope that things between them might work out. Seeing Cloud sitting there, out of battle, he almost appeared a different person. And with a start he realized that he hadn't even asked Cloud about his meeting with the General.

                "I actually meant to ask, I'm a bit curious. What did the General want with you?" Sephiroth asked with a curious tone, all early jealousy gone. It was a telling sign.

                Cloud thought for a moment about how to answer. He knew Sephiroth had a bit of an obsession with Genesis. It was obvious even for him. The truth had served him well enough so far, but he would have to explain a bit.

                "I meant to tell you actually, but I didn't get a chance. After our injections, I ran into him. He drug me off to a training room to test out my abilities, then sent me on my way. You actually called not long after he left." Cloud started.

                Sephiroth however paled a bit and stared in shock at Cloud. "You- you mean? After the injections. Oh my, Cloud."  Training on his own was one thing, but with the general? "And you're alright?"

                Cloud looked down a bit. "I'm fine, we sparred for a bit, then he asked me a few questions and left. I think we were right though about him looking for something. I think that's what he wants."

                Sephiroth's chest tightened a bit. He wasn't in the right mind to be jealous of Cloud. And he could see why the general would be interested. The man across from him was powerful, graceful and beautiful. Of course the general had taken notice.

                "What did he want with you today?" Sephiroth asked calmly, he had to know now more than he did before.

                "To talk about Wutai, he asked me to be his second and told me I had a lot of potential and that I'd be a fine officer someday." Cloud answered, gauging Sephiroth's reaction. Sephiroth had reacted strangely to a lot of things and he could see him getting upset over the interaction with the general.

                Sephiroth however seemed to relax a bit. Of course the General wouldn't be interested like that. He didn't even know why his mind had tried to torment him with imagines of the general bending Cloud over his desk.

                He abruptly cut off that train of thought and crossed his legs. "That's wonderful, Cloud. Maybe you can get me an autograph?" Sephiroth finally said, trying to force some humor back into the situation.

                "Maybe, but I do imagine you'll have the opportunity to ask yourself in Wutai." Cloud replied as the waitress came to take their order.

                Sephiroth sighed, this was going to be a long night. Several probably, but he promised himself: In the end it would be worth it.  

* * *

 

                The night had been pleasant, Sephiroth thought as they walked home. He desperately wished that Cloud had understood all of it. Would realize why Sephiroth had done this. "Did you enjoy yourself?"  He asked his companion.

                Cloud thought for a moment, of the meal, the company and the conversation. It had been new to him, but pleasant all the same. "I think so and even I can admit a bit of a break from training was nice. It was quieter than the club and I think I would enjoy a night like this more than last night in the future."

                Sephiroth smiled as Cloud mentioned the future, maybe at least part of him understood, he was a fast learner, it seemed. "Doing this in the future would be nice." He acknowledged.

                As they reached the Shinra complex though, Sephiroth stopped them for a moment. "I wanted to say I really enjoyed tonight, too. I'm trying my best to get you to understand Cloud, know what I want. I want you to know what you want." He cupped Cloud's face again as he spoke.

                With that his eyes fluttered closed and he kissed Cloud again. Cloud clumsily returned the kiss, the awkwardness of kissing someone so close to his guardian was fading though. Did Sephiroth want from him what the characters in his books had shared? Did he want to love Cloud and for Cloud to love him?  Did Cloud want that?

                When Sephiroth pulled away, Cloud tried to speak. "I don't know what I want. I've never thought about someone else like that. But I want to learn."

                "I'll teach you everything you need to know, if I can. It's actually kind of nice, to help you with something, since you've offered to help me and Angeal train. It doesn't make me feel so bad." Sephiroth replied with a bit of a smirk.

                "Fair trade, it seems." Cloud offered Sephiroth a smile of his own.

                "Glad you agree." Sephiroth said again before leaning in to kiss Cloud yet again. This was probably the best job he'd ever had.

* * *

 

                Genesis sat alone in his room again. This was normal behavior. He often spent his nights alone, especially before missions. He went through battle plans, scenarios and anything he could. Mind filled with his duty, it was all consuming.

                Except right now it wasn't. Right now he couldn't think of a materia roster, or unit formations, or anything he usually devised during these nights.

                The only think on his mind was blond hair and mako eyes. He had asked that Cloud be taken to Wutai, that had been normal enough. Cloud needed experience to prove himself and Genesis wanted to see him on the battlefield. That didn't explain why he had asked Cloud to be his second.

                On the surface, it wasn't a bad decision.  Cloud really did have potential. And his second was really just a title. He didn't really have much of a need for one. But he had been so determined to make it so. Keep him close.

                Closer than a rival needed to be. And that was what currently had the general perplexed. Just what did he really want from Cloud Strife?


	7. The Art of War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yah really nothing to say about why this took so long to update other then the fact that my muses for certain stories took a holiday. I think some of them are back from summer (and spring?) vacation so hopefully you'll see some more updates in the near future.
> 
> At the moment this chapter is unbeta'd as soon as I get it back from my beta I'll replace the chapter.
> 
> Anyway I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
> 
> For those of you that saw this update before- I've fixed what I screwed up plot wise. I really need to keep better notes.
> 
> Please leave a comment-Azurith

Sephiroth sat in the room he had claimed deep in thought. Even in his search for answers he hadn't been unaware of what was going on. From what he could pull from Shinra's database, his mother had died in childbirth just like the report at the lab had stated. Vincent who had avoided his fate at the mansion and knew that Sephiroth was his son had decided to give the boy up for adoption. The reason had been listed as "Career difficulties." Raising a child as a Turk would have been near impossible on his own. Sephiroth knew this, but it seemed so anticlimactic after everything else.

He wondered if Valentine even knew his son was at SOLDIER, or if he cared to keep tabs on him. Sephiroth knew it shouldn't matter to him, but after raising Cloud he felt he understood the bond between a father and child at least on some level. He wanted his alternate self's father to care for him. Even if he seemed to have been raised by two loving parents.

Though thinking on his younger self, that twisted his stomach. He had witnessed the kiss between Cloud and his other. It was awkward to watch but it was understandable. He himself had been interested in men. In fact when he looked back he realized he and Genesis had been on the cusp of an actual relationship when the man had lost himself to degradation. Try as he might though all these years later he couldn't be upset over his actions at Nibelheim. His friend's mind had been broken and he had been reaching out. He knew now that his own actions there would have been different if Jenova had not manipulated his mind. Trying for so long to find a way to help Genesis, only to throw him away. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts, old regrets were not something to dwell on right now.

What truly bothered him was that Cloud had no clue what was even going on. He was more lost then even Sephiroth was when the idea of a relationship had presented itself. He was also much younger. There wasn't anything to do but sit back. His younger self would be a much better instructor in that area, and seemed to have no intention of taking advantage of Cloud. He had to admit even with everything, watching his younger self kiss someone he thought of as his son did seem slightly disturbing.

* * *

Cloud, Sephiroth, and Angeal stood ready to board the transport plane that would take all of the men and Genesis to Wutai. They had spent the day before training together. Cloud had gone over everything he could. Anything to give the two a leg up in Wutai. When the day had ended Cloud had wanted to talk to Sephiroth before he left, but his mentor told him he was as ready as he would ever be. That he was proud, and told him he needed to be out spending time with his friends.

The blonde had looked at him a moment, hugged his mentor and slipped back out. He was sucked into watching some show with Angeal and Seph. He never did pick up on the plot, but it felt nice when Seph had wrapped his arms around him.

What that meant he hadn't even begun to contemplate.

Cloud was however pulled from his thoughts as Genesis walked out, looking regal as ever as he strode in front of his troops, doing a minor inspection. The General's eyes sweeping over everyone, face an expressionless mask. Though again when he reached Angeal and Sephiroth his eye seemed to glass over before falling on Cloud. "Everyone on the plane. Strife you're with me. We have a few things to go over on the way to Wutai." His voice was firm as always and Sephiroth and Angeal looked at Cloud before moving to board the plane.

The blond looked back to his friends before turning to board the plane. Angeal looked shocked and confused, and Seph a bit hesitant. Cloud remembered that he hadn't told Angeal about his assignment and judging from the looking on the other man's face, Seph hadn't mentioned it either. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about it now. He couldn't keep Genesis waiting so he grabbed his things and smoothly made his way to the front of the plane where the General had entered.

The rest of the troops fell in line to board at the back as he stepped up into the front of the plane. Once inside the officers quarters, Genesis turned to Cloud. "Put your things anywhere." the tone was slightly casual and it caught the blond SOLDIER off guard.

He obeyed however and tossed his bag down next to a few he saw sitting on the floor of the plane already. Ragnarok was laid to rest next to his bag. Cloud wasn't sure what Genesis expected out of him. He supposed though he was about to find out as he stood.

"Take a seat." Genesis instructed. "Even SOLDIERs have trouble standing during takeoff." the blond did as he was told and sat as the General took the seat next to him. The Cloud was quiet as he still felt he didn't know enough details of the deployment to offer anything useful. He was about to ask for them when Genesis spoke.

"I'll admit Cloud," the General using his given name threw him yet again. "You've had me stumped since I first saw you." Genesis's eyes were calculating as ever when he talked. Cloud could hear the rear of the plane close. They would be taking off shortly. "I was always told no one could possibly be as strong as I was. It wasn't possible. I was elite, special." Cloud wasn't sure where Genesis was going with this, but suddenly the air in the plane felt much more dangerous and he wished he hadn't left Ragnarok with his other things. Rapier was still at Genesis's side.

"Then you came along." Genesis continued. "You tore through your entrance exam like it was child's play. Everything else you've done including your spar with me as seemed to come as easy to you as breathing. I wondered how you could exist when I was told I was alone."

Cloud still stayed quiet. He had expected to hear about the war effort, not the General's personal feelings on him. The plane started to taxi down the runaway and the blond started to feel nervous. Genesis was a challenge for him to handle and if he decided to do something, Cloud would be at a clear disadvantage.

Sensing the confusion in the other man, Genesis almost smiled. Cloud had, had him at his wits end for days. It was nice to see the blonde caught so off guard. "You have been a mystery." Genesis admitted as the plane started to take to the air. "But I think I've finally figured something out." The General's tone of voice changed slightly as he spoke those last words.

With grace only Genesis could posses he leaned over the side of his chair and pulled Cloud into a deep kiss as the plane flew into the air. It was certainly different then kissing Seph had been. Whereas Seph had been eager, and fiery, inviting, this felt like Genesis was trying to suck him in and devour him whole. Take everything and leave nothing behind.

It was good feeling, even for one who understood so little about feelings, and romance. He also took it as a sign that Genesis liked him, like Seph had described. So he returned the kiss, trying to reassure the General that he liked him too. The air was thinner the higher they flew, and even with his enhancements the combination of the kiss and the lack of air left the blond feeling slightly light headed. Cloud felt a leather gloved hand snake into his hair as he returned the kiss. Awkwardly he slipped his own arm around Genesis's back, as much for support as the true desire to touch the other man.

When the lips were pulled away Cloud felt a bit of loss he couldn't explain, and as his eyes met the General's again there was something burning behind them that hadn't been there before. "You're mine you understand that right?" Genesis's voice was firm as he spoke. His own experience with the idea of a relationship only slightly better than Cloud's. But he was a man that knew what he wanted and had no reason not to just take it.

"Yours?" Cloud somehow found the will to speak. A battle of swords he had mastered, a battle of wills was another story. Here Genesis had the clear advantage, especially when Cloud was so confused.

"Mine." The General's voice was just as firm.

"But Seph and Angeal-" Cloud started to protest, still not sure exactly what Genesis was asking.

"Are beneath us. They might be something for the average man to look upon in awe, but they are nothing but a couple of useless recruits I was forced to take along so I could have you." Genesis's voice was as close to anger as it could be.

Cloud didn't know much, and his goal had been to get closer to Genesis, he wanted to protest and argue but he took a deep breath. Seph and Angeal had each other, Genesis had nothing...still he couldn't just give them up without a fight. Especially when he was so uncertain of what it was exactly Seph wanted out of him.

"They are my friends. Some of the first I ever had." Cloud muttered looking away.

Genesis's eyes narrowed as he studied Cloud. "I've never had a friend. They're useless."

"They've taught me a lot." Cloud admitted. "Besides, don't you want to be my friend? I thought that's what this was about."

"I want to be more than your friend Cloud." Genesis nearly purred. Though the confidence he was showing, was only masking his own doubts about his actions."I thought that was obvious." A slight change in tone with the last words were the only thing to give away he wasn't as certain about his actions as it seemed.

"Oh." the blond swallowed as he was suddenly reminded of the books he had read. Was that was Genesis wanted? Could he give that? Just as the night with Seph Cloud didn't know. At least here however Genesis was making his intentions more clear. "I" he tried to speak again, only he didn't know what to say.

Genesis had to resist smiling yet again. It seemed the blonde wasn't infallible after all and it just seemed to make him more endearing to the ginger. However his military mind was already working. Giving up ground wasn't something the General of Shinra's army was use to doing, but it didn't mean he didn't know how. Especially when he actually wanted something. Cloud hadn't out right refused him. If he was to have the blond it, he wouldn't be separated from the pair of idiots sitting in his cargo hold it seemed.

Calculating eyes studied Cloud a bit more as Genesis tried to figure out just how much ground he would have to give. The blond shifted, it was obvious that the General was treating him like property to be claimed, the problem was Cloud didn't know why that could be such a bad thing.

Before Genesis could speak however Cloud broke the silence looking out the window. It was clear he was trying to understand what Seph and Angeal meant to him as much as he was trying to get the General to understand. "Before I came to Shinra the only person I ever really knew was my Mentor." Cloud started. "I thought that was all I needed, what point was there in knowing other people?" the blond looked back to Genesis hoping he might understand. " I thought the way you do, that they were useless."

The General decided to stay his tongue and leaned back in his seat to listen. Crossing his arms he just kept his eyes looked on Cloud.

The blond sighed he wasn't good at this but he had to try. "You're right you know, they are clueless. I couldn't believe how bad they were at combat. How undisciplined they were." Another deep breath he couldn't ramble. He needed to be clear. "But they accepted me, showed me what there was other than a sword in my hand, and I'm still learning. That's why I need them. I haven't known them long but they've shown me things I've only read about in books." When Cloud finished he looked away, back out the window.

Genesis was about to tear into Cloud for being foolish, warriors like them didn't need things like that. But then he realized at the same time he was reaching out to Cloud because of his beloved book. The retort died in his throat.

Swift as his mind was however he didn't remain silent for long. "You can have your friends then." Genesis stated almost as if he was giving an order. Something else seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, and the blond sat confused for a moment trying to read the other man when it dawned on him exactly how much Genesis was like himself.

"I'm sure they would teach you too. Then maybe you'd understand better. " Cloud offered hesitantly.

Another unreadable look crossed Genesis's face and Cloud thought he'd lost the other man until he looked away. "I suppose they need some way to prove themselves useful. But Cloud I will state this again. You are mine. "

"What do you want from me?" Cloud asked, hoping for a clarification. All this 'affection' he'd been receiving lately was a bit hard to handle. Some much of this he still didn't truly understand. The blond thought he'd guessed at the General's meaning but he needed to be sure.

"I want you." Genesis affirmed. "I waited too long for someone like you to come along. You're a match for me in every way I could want, I wouldn't have to worry about my enemies getting to you and I am certain, there's no one else better suited for me."

Slowly Cloud nodded, It made sense, and for two people who had no idea what love truly was, logic would rule. Besides Cloud felt something in him flutter as Genesis leaned in to claim another kiss. He still wasn't sure what Seph had been getting at either, but Seph had Angeal, Genesis had no one. No one until now.

* * *

The younger Sephiroth sat next to Angeal on the transport plane with his arms crossed and eyes closed. It wasn't the first time he'd flown, his family took a vacation every year to Costa del Sol after all, but it still didn't mean he enjoyed it.

Angeal just laughed at his friend. "Come on, I figured after our enhancements you'd get over this."

"Hn." Sephiroth muttered he certainly preferred to be on the ground. "I'm not sick, I just still don't like being in the air. I'd rather drive a motorcycle to Wutai."

"Well I don't even think SOLDIER can survive that long without air, even if your beloved bike could." Angeal snickered before leaning back a bit.

"Meh, I could find a way." Sephiroth remarked, before shaking his head. "Still, I want to know what General Genesis wanted with Cloud.'

"I don't know." Angeal shrugged at his friend.

"I mean I know he's the General's second, but I want to know _why."_ Sephiroth finally sounded out.

A look crossed Angeal's face. "Didn't care to tell me?" it was true he'd been frustrated with his friend's behavior since they'd come to Shinra. He couldn't blame Cloud, but Sephiroth had been treating him a bit second rate.

"He just told me the other night, and I've been thinking about it. I just I don't know." Sephiroth sighed at least trying to sound slightly apologetic.

"Hmm." Angeal's lips thinned a bit but then a smile broke out on his face. "I suppose I can't stay mad at you. But I really don't know what's up."

Sephiroth was about to speak once more when he heard a bit of a laugh to his other side. "You two really are clueless aren't you?"

The silver haired man scowled despite his typical easy going nature he still didn't like to be made fun of. He was about to retort when Angeal put his hand on Sephiroth's shoulder and spoke himself. "We haven't been told much no." he had admitted smoothly.

"Hey no offence intended." The man replied holding up his hands. "You're rather new, it always takes awhile for this group to warm up to new comers, Bit of a family here." he informed the pair as he put his hands down. Everyone else still seemed to be ignoring them.

"Doesn't help some of the guys are a bit sore you're even here. I mean it takes years of hard work just get a chance at this position usually. And truthfully you're a bit rough around the edges. " The SOLDIER admitted.

"I can see how that might irritate someone." Angeal nodded in agreement as Sephiroth seemed to calm down a bit.

"We were rather surprised ourselves." The silver haired SOLDIER finally admitted. "I mean Cloud I understand, us? It was like a weird dream."

The man who had taken the time to speak with them nodded his head. "It is rather unusual. Can you tell me more about Strife though? I mean we're all rather curious about him. You two seem to be the only ones he even speaks too."

Once the question was asked people finally turned to look at those involved in the conversation. It was an odd feeling to say the least.

"There's not much for us to tell." Angeal finally admitted. "I mean we met him during our entrance exam. He was a bit distant at first, but he's opened up rather well. Cloud's skills are amazing though. I've never seen anything like it."

Sephiroth nodded in agreement. "He hasn't told us much really." the man admitted suddenly feeling his stomach twist that he knew so little about the blond he was currently falling for. Not that he would have given away much to people who didn't even know Cloud.

With the admission however it seemed the rest of the men lost interest in the conversation. Before the SOLDIER that had spoke to him turned away Sephiroth asked his own question. "What is he doing with Cloud up there anyway?"

"Oh that," The SOLDIER laughed a bit. " I imagine he's briefing him on what he needs to know. He usually doesn't bother with it though. It's not like he really needs the help. Anyway just relax and you'll do fine." with that the man slapped Sephiroth on the back and turned away again.

The younger man didn't know what to think as he sat back and reclaimed his position with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Again a feeling of jealousy flowed through him, he just couldn't pinpoint who he was jealous of.

* * *

The flight would take 9 hours, and after their initial interaction things had reached an equilibrium between Genesis and Cloud. The General almost seemed in awe at the idea of touching someone else. Cloud who wasn't exactly familiar with physical contact himself found it slightly awkward, but at the same time there was something about touching Genesis like this he couldn't bother to get the man to stop. It through him off, how much different the interaction was with Genesis verse Seph.

Seph had seemed cautious, gentle and calm. It was like sitting on a still lake in the middle of a warm summer day. Genesis however felt like he was in the middle of the ocean during a hurricane, fighting just to keep his head above water. The blond had to admit the part of his nature that drove him to fight, to find a challenge enjoyed this just a bit more. There was also the fact that Genesis wasn't another version of his mentor.

Eventually Genesis had explained to Cloud the mission. It seemed there were some insurgents that had taken up residence in a village just south of the line Shinra had been pushing. It was their job to clear them out and push the line further north. Simple enough a task it seemed. It had been assigned just as much to sway public opinion on the war, then anything. The General and his unit were hardly needed to complete the task.

The blond could sense that Genesis was bored with the war. Perhaps that was why he had decide to pursue some kind of storybook romance with him. Cloud didn't know, but he was now more than ever determined not to fail at his goal. The General would no longer be alone. He found it ironic however that he hadn't even known what he was trying to offer Genesis until he'd met Seph and Angeal.

The briefing had been short, and when it was finished Cloud watched curiously as Genesis walked over to a brown leather bag he'd brought on board. "Do you play chess?" the general asked, something sparked in his eye.

Cloud nodded, "My mentor said it was a good way to begin to learn strategy."

Blue eyes looked on in amazement as the closest thing he'd heard to a laugh fell from the General's lips. "Hollander said the same thing." he stated as he unrolled a leather mat. "It was a gift, one of the few I have received." Genesis explained. "Normally I play against myself to pass the time on the flights, when Loveless isn't enough. But I thought you might be interested."

The blond watched the redhead trying to gauge what laid behind the glowing mako eyes and found he couldn't. He knew the General was plotting something, but for the life of him he couldn't fathom what.

Rather than getting frustrating he found the prospect rather exhilarating. "I would be happy to play." Cloud finally replied and moved to sit at a small table set up in the cabin. Genesis smirked a bit and place a pile of white tokens etched with and image of the piece they represented in front of Cloud. In front of himself was a similar pile of black tokens.

Silently they place their pieces on the mat as the blond wondered exactly what they were playing for. Two sets of eyes were locked on the mat calculating as each piece moved and when one fell the other wondered if it had been a predicted move. As the match drew a smile found itself across Cloud's face. It was like playing against his Sephiroth and the blond realized that while Seph might physically resemble his mentor Genesis was like him in so many other ways.

For his part the General's lips never moved, but he didn't regret asking Cloud to play. It was certainly more challenging then the coming battle would be, more challenging than anything he'd done in a while outside his spar with the man sitting across from him.

However when Cloud moved his Knight and declared checkmate, Genesis's eyes quickly scanned the mat and one of the most honest expressions he'd ever had settled on his features if just for a moment. The General was truly surprised he had lost. "I've never." he stated before looking back up at Cloud and schooling his features. To anyone else the reaction might have been horrifying but the blond just looked back at Genesis.

"Learning to deal with failure is something everyone should have to deal with." Cloud replied smoothly.

"I suppose your mentor taught you that." Genesis replied quickly, mind still going over the last match trying to determine where he'd gone wrong.

The new SOLDIER just shook his head. "Yes he did."

The General sat quiet for a moment longer, seeming to come to a conclusion that placated him before picking up the pieces. For him failure had never been an option. He never truly had learned to deal with it. Coupled with the fact that despite his earlier forwardness the idea of letting someone close to him still caused a bit of uneasiness, the ginger was far more quiet then even normal for him. Contemplating everything. He had suspected Cloud to have an impact on him. At the moment though he couldn't comprehend just how bit that impact was going to be.

Part of him wanted to run, but that would be just another failure, and it seemed he'd already done that twice. The game of chess and judging Cloud. At the same time though the idea of unraveling the blond stirred something in him that he'd never known before.

Cloud let the man be and went back to his original seat. With Genesis lost in his own thoughts, it gave Cloud the chance he had needed to think about his friends. He knew Seph had been jumpy about the General. There was a lot the blond needed to tell his friend he knew, but he also wanted Seph's advice. Whatever this relationship was that Genesis wanted from him, he was sure about. He knew he liked what had happened so far but that was all. Certainly the young silver haired man could help him get things straightened out.


End file.
